I Heart You: The Rewrite
by SoraxKairi7
Summary: SoKai. AU. Nobody ever said high school relationships were easy. When Sora, a popular and charismatic guy notices Kairi, a 'geek' with a weird circle of friends, she can't help but have doubts. A lesson in life, love and friendship. ::Rewrite of the original, 8 years later. Many changes. Check it out!:: Cover photo by me!
1. The Game

**LONG A/N PLEASE READ FIRST:** Hello, everyone! Welcome to the COMPLETE REWRITE of the I Heart You series. This series is an AU of Sora and Kairi's life together. I've been here for nearly ten years and I kind of want to do this to see how far I've come as a writer. It's a pretty big project to take on. Now, this story **will not be too much like the original**. A lot of things did not make much sense when I went over it. I'm determined to make this story better than EVER! However, I am keeping the original IHY on here for comparison. Feel free to read that any time, but be warned, it may hurt your head. Lol.

Also, I know a lot of you that read the series voted for an I Heart You 1.5, which would center around Sora and Kairi's college days. (IHY2 skips about 11 years after high school and IHY3 happens about six years after that – those time skips will change slightly) That will be part of this remake!

When I wrote the series (late 2005/2006) we were not really introduced to a vast array of characters like we are now. KH2 was just coming out (for goodness sakes, I referred to Olette as Orett!) and Youtube was still becoming a thing. I made some Myspace friends. Flip phones were all the craze. Expect to see plug ins where some OC's used to be of the other characters. (Vanitas! WOOT!)

I have added some fan art to my deviantArt page dealing with this series. Make sure to check those out! The cover photo is made by me!

The original story was 32 chapters, but those chapters were short. These chapters will be fairly long. Enjoy and be sure to **review**!

::Some characters will not show up in the series until later::

**This story is a high school AU. Some characters will be OOC. Rated strictly T.**

o-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**I Heart You: The Rewrite.**

_Chapter One._

O-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

Panic.

Kairi had exactly ten minutes before the bell rang. Rushing into her classroom, she pulled out a notebook, a pen and her textbook. _'Crap, what page was it? Did we have to answer __all__ of them? Gah... I don't even know what page the story was on...'_ Kairi flipped back to the index. Just then, Namine walked in and sat next to her. Kairi reached her hand out to her dramatically, her fingers nearly touching the blonde's arm.

"Na-mi-ne..."

"Oh, please don't tell me you forgot to do your homework again..." Namine rolled her eyes and smiled. "Good thing I did mine... like always. Hurry up and copy it."

"C-copy? I can't do that..." Kairi slumped over and sighed.

"Kairi, this is the third assignment you've missed and we just started the new semester. Just word it differently. I don't mind doing this for you, but this is the last time. Hurry up before-" Namine's mouth shut when their teacher, Mrs. Rogers came in carrying a few folders. She sat at her desk and cleaned her glasses.

_'Five minutes...'_ Kairi didn't want to get another bad grade. She took Namine's paper and started to re-word the answers. Luckily, there were only seven questions, but Namine seemed to feel like she had to write an entire essay for them! Kairi summed it up the best she could and handed the paper back to Namine. With an apologetic smile, she mouthed, _'Thank you!'_ Namine gave her that, _'you owe me,'_ look and got her notebook out. The bell rang and Kairi was able to sign her name at the top just in time. A few late students trotted into the room.

Mrs. Rogers went to the front of the classroom. She was pretty strict and Kairi knew this. "Hand in your homework." she stated as she turned on the television for the morning announcements. The North Destiny News Network did a video every morning and afternoon.

Kairi passed her paper to the person in front of her and let out another sigh. _'That was close...' _She focused on the TV. Her heart nearly melted.

"Good morning, everyone! I'm Sora Kiyamoto." the charismatic teen on the screen stated.

"And I'm Axel Smith," said the guy with long, spiky red hair, "and we're bringing you the morning announcements! First on the agenda, there's a Blitzball game tonight against you know who! Our rival, South Destiny High! Biggest game of the season so you'd better all be there! It'll be at the Mini Aquatic Dome as usual. Sora, being a part of the team, aren't you nervous for it?"

"A little, but I'm confident that we can win!"

Kairi swooned.

"Next is about the library—we are currently in the process of getting all new computers!"

Sora's enthusiasm was always able to put a smile on Kairi's face. Like her, he was a senior, but that was about all they had in common. She had a few classes with him, yet could never bring herself to talk to him.

"Kairi, you're staring again." Namine whispered. Kairi's face reddened. She couldn't help it. Sora was just so adorable.

_'Can't a girl dream?'_

The morning announcements were over and now Kairi had to come back to reality. She doodled on the side of her notebook with her pen, drawing some Chibi Anime character out of boredom. Mrs. Rogers started the lesson.

"Guess what time it is? It's time for your semester projects." The class groaned, including Kairi. "Three 2,000 word essays with topics of your choice. It's due in May. This is going to be thirty percent of your final grade."

_'You know, I always wondered why teachers put such a load on their students and themselves? So if all twenty-two students did these three essays then turned them in at the end of the semester, what teacher would want to actually read through about ninety-something essays? It's just a lot of work if you ask me.'_

This was Kairi's way of complaining. The girl in front of her passed her the project information sheets. She took one and passed it back. Namine sent her a sympathetic look. _'I already know she's embracing this opportunity. Namine loves creative writing. Sure, I like it too, but gosh, writing cannot be forced! Everything should flow naturally!'_

Well, at least she was able to choose her topics.

But Kairi was the master when it came to procrastination and she knew that there was no use in worrying about it now. She put the paper in her folder.

"Pop quiz!"

_'Damn it!'_

o-o-o

Xion set her lunch tray down across from Kairi. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Xion. Guess what?" Selphie wrapped her arm around hers. Uncomfortable with her close proximity, Xion tried to move away.

"So I have this friend named Peter that comes and talks to me on random occasions. He tells me the weirdest things—like how the penguins at the North Pole band together and sing Christmas songs every day." Xion tried to ignore her and started eating her food. Selphie let out a huge gasp. "You know, it just occurred to me!"

Everyone looked to Selphie.

"I have found my purpose in this world. I'm supposed to set out on a long, treacherous journey, fight crime and save the-"

"Oh, will you jut stop it?" Xion joked, chuckling afterward.

"Well _excuse ME, PRINCESS!"_ Selphie exclaimed.

"You're crazy," Namine stated, then went back to her homework. Selphie was always telling silly jokes that didn't have any relevance to anything. Kairi loved her friends. Selphie used to live across the street from her back in elementary school and that was how they met. Namine apparently was her best friend in Kindergarten, but they didn't really start talking again until middle school. She also met Xion in middle school when she noticed that Kairi had some printed Anime pictures. Kairi didn't have a lot of friends and she didn't need to. She was happy.

"Kairi, have you thought about joining the choir with me? Miss Lenne would love it if you did." Namine said to her.

"Choir? I can't sing in front of people..." Kairi stated.

"Oh, come on. You already take the class and I've heard you sing. If you learn how to do it properly, I think you could be really good."

"But..."

All of a sudden, they heard some chairs being moving around and some yelling from the other side of the room. A crowd started forming around it. _'That's where Sora usually sits...'_ The cafeteria quieted down as the argument got louder.

"Sora, you're always telling us what to do! You need to just chill the fuck out and get off of our backs!" A guy shouted angrily.

"I don't know why you're _yelling_!" Sora shot back; his voice rising with each word. "But if I recall, you keep skipping practice! School rules state that if you skip, you don't play in the games!"

Kairi heard some shoving and what sounded like someone hitting the table. The crowd 'ooed' and moved out of the way. Now Sora and the guy—named Tidus were in sight. A few teachers tried to stop the commotion. Sora didn't seem to be fighting back. Tidus threw a punch in his direction, but he dodged, making Tidus' side hit the edge of the table.

"Whoa, whoa! Stop this!" The principal weaved in. Everyone went back to their seats. Sora and Tidus were escorted out of the cafeteria and down to the principal's office. The chatter started up again, but it was mostly about what had just transpired. Some had recorded it on their cell phones and were replaying it for their friends and laughing, which really annoyed Kairi, but it was not like she did anything to help.

"Well... that was interesting." Xion said and then went back to eating.

"Speaking of that, my mom is making me go to the Blitzball game tonight," Selphie pouted, "will you guys come with me? Please?"

"I have a lot of homework." Xion told her. She gave Kairi and Namine puppy eyes.

"Fine..." Namine grumbled.

"I guess I have nothing better to do."

"Oh, you just want to see Sora." Selphie teased.

"Would he even be there, though?" Kairi asked, staring off in the direction of the principal's office.

O-o-o

When Kairi got home, she took her ponytail down and fell onto her bed. The game was in a few hours. Just as she was about to drift off into dreamland, her door flung open.

"Koru, what are you doing in here?" Kairi sat up and glared at her little brother.

"You have a phone call." he handed her the house phone.

"Okay, well knock next time. I don't know how many times I have to say it." Kairi put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kairi." It was her friend Riku. He lived down the street. "Do you want to come over tonight? I have to babysit my sister and your company would make everything so much better."

"Oh, I'm sorry... Selphie invited me to the Blitzball game. Why don't you and your sister come with us?"

He seemed to be considering it. "Oh, alright. What time?"

After making those plans, Kairi decided she would just ride with Riku to the game instead of having Namine pick her up. She called Namine to tell her.

"R-Riku's coming?" she said nervously.

_'Oh, that's right... Namine likes him.'_ A smirk formed across her face. "Yeah."

"Dang it, now I have to figure out what to wear... I was just going to dress casual..."

Kairi chuckled. "Alright, I'll see you there."

If Sora was going to be at the game, she wanted to dress nicely just in case, but her fashion sense was about as good as a plain white wall. Kairi's friends weren't exactly into dressing up either, so she had to do this one on her own. Searching through her closet, she pulled out a tight-fitting black dress. _'No... WAY too much...'_

_'Hold on... that would be trying too hard and now I don't feel like it. I'll just attempt some mascara and eyeliner and that will do, right?'_ Kairi submitted to this decision and went to her parent's bathroom. Going through her mother's make up bag (which she was allowed to do), Kairi found what she needed. After a few minutes of attempting the eyeliner, she just looked like a hot mess.

So she washed it off and just settled for the mascara.

o-o-o

Riku picked her up fifteen minutes before. His ten year old sister greeted Kairi happily from the back seat. "Hey, Mari." Kairi said as she fastened her seat belt. Riku checked his mirrors and pulled out of the driveway.

"Thanks for getting me out of the house." Riku told her. "Mari seems pretty excited, anyway. It gets me out of watching things like My Little Pony."

"Oh please, I catch you humming the theme song every now and then." Kairi joked.

"It's addictive, okay?" Riku's face reddened a little.

"That's just what happens when you're stuck with kids all the time."

"Yeah," Riku sighed heavily, "so is this your first time going to a Blitzball game?"

"I went once before, but it wasn't really that exciting. I'm more into soccer." Kairi responded.

"Oh yeah... well that's basically what it is... except it's under water... and stuff. By the way, why did you stop playing soccer?"

Kairi shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to focus on graduating, but I'm already doing a _perfect_ job with that..."

"Yeah, I'm pretty nervous about graduation. I'm passing, but I may not get into the school I wanted. My parents are going to kill me."

"What school?" Kairi had barely thought about college.

"Twilight University. I don't know how I feel about leaving the islands. This is all I've ever known, you know?" Riku pulled into the Dome parking lot. It was packed.

"How much does this cost, by the way?"

"For high school students it's five dollars."

o-o-o

Kairi found Selphie, her mother and Namine sitting up in the middle row. The seats were a bit higher than the playing field—a sphere filled with water. This was the miniature dome, specifically for high school games. The professional players played in a much bigger stadium next door. Kairi could see her school's team getting ready below, but Sora was nowhere in sight.

_'He must have been suspended.'_ Kairi concluded as she sat next to Namine. Namine wore a pink tank top and dark wash jeans. She had her blonde hair tied in a bun and put on a little extra makeup. Kairi took this opportunity to actually introduce the two.

"Riku, have you met Namine? I know that you know Selphie." she leaned back a little so they could shake hands.

"It's nice to meet you." Riku said. Namine blushed.

"Nice to meet you too."

"Ugh, mom, I don't want to be here!" Selphie whined.

"Child, I will cut you with a knife if you don't shut up right now." her mother, Mrs. Tilmitt voiced. Kairi always knew her mother to say these things, but she never meant it. Selphie turned and leaned on Namine's shoulder, pouting. She just laughed.

"Kairi, I don't see Sora anywhere. I'm sorry!"

"Who's Sora?" Mrs. Tilmitt asked Kairi.

"He's her biggest crush! He was supposed to play tonight, but earlier him and one of the other players got into a fight at school."

"Oh, that's _really nice._" Mrs. Tilmitt said sarcastically. "I question your choices in men, girls."

"No, he didn't start the fight. He wasn't even fighting back!" Selphie paused for a moment, "Oh, wait! There he is!" she pointed a few rows below them. Sora was with Axel and two other people. They sat down. Kairi's heart fluttered at the sight of him.

"So he _did_ make it..."

Riku leaned in and said, "He's not that great of a person, you know."

Riku used to be best friends with Sora, but in their freshman year they had a falling out. Riku never told Kairi why. She tried to keep her talk of Sora to a bare minimum around him, but sometimes in Sora's presence she forgot other people were around—not to mention her friends often teased her about him.

It was time for the game to start. The announcer began energizing the crowd. Blitzball had two halves spanning five minutes that went for six rounds, so all and all, the games lasted about an hour and a half with breaks. However, the teams would often go into overtime, so Kairi prepared herself for it since this was apparently "the game of the year." North Destiny High had a long running rivalry with South Destiny High—at least in sports. Their Blitzball games always ended in a tie. Kairi didn't really care for it. The players put on their goggles and other equipment and jumped into the water sphere. Kairi did think that the set up was pretty awesome, however. From what she knew, players needed at least a semester of training before they were actually allowed to play within the sphere.

The first round came and went without any scores. Kairi watched (occasionally glancing at the back of Sora's head) as the players swam quickly all over and knocked the ball in the opposing direction. Mrs. Tilmitt and Selphie cheered, which confused the others because they thought that Selphie didn't want to be here.

Kairi turned to the others. "Anyone want a snack? I'll go and get it."

"Jolly ranchers!" Mari said excitedly. Riku was going to refuse her need for sugar, but Kairi already accepted.

"Nothing for me." Riku said. "Thanks, though." Namine also refused.

"OH! Get me a hamburger!" Selphie pulled a few dollars out of her purse and handed them to Kairi.

"Alright, I'll be back."

Kairi went down the stairs and over to the concession stand. There was a long line. _'Well, I'm already out here.'_ Kairi took her place and waited. A minute later, she felt someone tapping her shoulder.

"Fancy seeing you here." Sora said with a huge grin. Kairi's heart nearly skipped a beat.

_'Oh my freaking god. H-he's talking to me? What the... heck?'_ Out of shyness and disbelief, Kairi just turned around. She bit her lip nervously.

"You're so quiet." he stated behind her. The line moved forward.

_'Now is your chance to talk to him. Kairi, snap out of it!'_

They heard loud cheering and the scoreboard changed. "Aww, man! Did they just score?!" Sora crossed his arms in disappointment. "This isn't fair. That would not have happened if _I_ was playing."

"W-well, there's still... time... right?"

_'Congratulations, you formed a sentence...'_

"So you _do_ speak!" Sora said happily, only making her blush more. It was Kairi's turn to order. She had completely forgotten what she came down to get, so she tried to focus on the menu. "Uh, one hamburger, a jolly rancher... and..." she felt a little embarrassed ordering these things with Sora right behind her, so in order to not seem like a complete food junkie, she just got a bottle of water and a protein bar, knowing very well that if she could just talk to him she would just explain that it was for her friends instead of worrying about what he thought of her.

"The hamburger will take a few minutes." the person told her after handing her everything else.

That meant she would have to stand around awkwardly—and possibly with Sora.

"Two hamburgers, six hot dogs and a couple bags of chips."

How Sora was going to carry all that was a mystery... unless they gave out bags?

"Wait about five to ten minutes."

"Alright." Sora turned and looked for Kairi, but she was gone.

_'I'll just tell Selphie what happened. She would understand, right?'_ Kairi raced back to her seat. She already felt like she had made a fool of herself. She gave Mari her jolly rancher. Selphie gave her a questionable look. _'Maybe I'll just let her have the protein bar...'_ Taking a few deep breaths, Kairi composed herself enough to inform her.

"Oh! So you talked to him?"

"I chickened out! I'm sorry... I kind of just... left your hamburger there. I'll pay you back, I promise!"

"Oh for goodness sakes..." Selphie just smiled. "Oh well."

About five minutes later, they saw Sora coming up to where they were. He must have already dropped off the food he ordered with his friends, because he was just carrying one burger. Going past Riku, he held it out to Kairi. "You forgot this."

Everyone waited for Kairi to take the burger from him. More awkwardness. Mrs. Tilmitt was about to say something, but then Sora spoke.

"Uh, okay... well, I'll just set this down then." Sora put it on her lap, smiled and then walked off. Kairi immediately felt stupid.

"You're so hopeless..." Namine patted her back sympathetically.

"I knew you were a mouse, Kairi, but why couldn't you say anything to the boy?" Selphie's mother raised her eyebrow. Kairi just shrugged as she tried to hide her face. She noticed Sora glance back once or twice with yet another smile. She watched as Sora bumped chests together with his friends and just looked like complete jocks.

"YAY, BURGER!" Selphie took it from Kairi's lap and started eating.

_'He's completely out of my league...'_

o-o-o

**A/N:** I know a few of you have already reviewed this chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the rewrite! I already have about six chapters done at this point. I may post a new chapter twice a week depending on the demand, so **leave a review** if you haven't already!

As the series goes on, the situations will become more mature and some serious. That's life, right?

Let me know what you think!


	2. Good Times

**A/N:** Since you guys read most of the first chapter in the preview I'm gonna go ahead and do a double update. Enjoy chapter two!

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**Chapter Two**

o-o-o

Kairi wasn't feeling so great about her encounter the day before and as if to make things worse, Sora filled the first half of her day. First the morning announcements and then Spanish class with him. Luckily, Kairi sat near the front and he was in the back.

"Tiene un examen mañana." Mrs. Martinez said as she began the lesson. Kairi sank once more about yet another test. It seemed that ever since her senior year began all she had been doing was taking them. "Sora, please answer the question."

"Uh... the answer is... _ir_?"

"Correct." The teacher continued to call on people for answers to the homework.

Kairi hated being called on. Sora did it so naturally, but it was expected because of who he was. Captain of the Blitzball team and main broadcaster of the news network, Sora was outgoing and got along with anyone and everyone. Kairi was the complete opposite. Even though she played soccer for a few years, that didn't mean she knew how to socialize with anyone other than the people she was comfortable with—a.k.a. her friends. She was simply too shy. Kairi cared a great deal about what others thought of her and didn't want problems. One time, she cried for getting detention!

And of course, Mrs. Martinez made Kairi the next victim. "Kairi, what is the answer en español?"

Kairi leaned forward and looked over her notes. At least she did her homework this time. She could feel all the eyes on her as her nerves escalated. "El perro es muy... fabulosa." She peeped. A few people in class snickered and Kairi felt a bit embarrassed. Mrs. Martinez almost didn't hear her. Selphie gave her a sympathetic look.

Kairi knew that she had a problem.

"Now, then... I guess I should let you all know that we are having a senior trip this year. It will be in April. Anyone want to guess where we will be going?" Mrs. Martinez asked.

"Oh! Spain?!" Selphie shouted.

"Unfortunately, no. This year the senior trip will be to Disney World and Universal Studios!"

Everyone in the class was super excited; even Kairi couldn't contain herself.

"All you have to pay for are your tickets as well as any personal shopping. Food, hotel costs and travel will be covered by the school. We will ride there by bus. It will be about a seven hour trip." She started passing out papers. Kairi just _had_ to convince her parents.

"Sora, you gonna go, man?"

"We'll see. I may have to work."

_'He works?'_

Kairi didn't care if Sora was going or not. She had only been to those places once, but it had been a few years. Going with her friends would make all the difference! She exchanged approving looks with Selphie and the bell rang.

o-o-o

During gym class, they had to run a few laps before getting into a game of kickball. Sora and Wakka dominated the floor as usual. Riku and Kairi were in line together, waiting for their turn to kick.

"Riku, did you hear about the senior trip?" Kairi asked excitedly.

"Oh, yeah. I don't think I'm going to make it. My parents wouldn't want to pay. You know how they are. Frugal..." Riku rolled his eyes.

"What about your job? Don't you cut grass or something?"

"Well, yeah..." Riku pondered for a moment, "...I don't know. Besides, I'm not a huge fan of theme parks."

"That's a shame... because Namine loves them."

"Oh... um..." Riku seemed a bit nervous now.

_'He is so obvious.'_ Kairi thought as she moved up in the line. Wakka kicked the ball straight over the fence and started prancing around the field as one of the students hurried to get the ball, but it was no use. He was cleared. Sora was out on the field, ready for anything. Kairi stepped up to the plate. With her on and off background in soccer, surely there was no way she could mess this one up, right?

_'Ugh, alright, focus. You can't let him intimidate you.'_ Kairi told herself as she waited for the whistle. Obviously, Sora was watching her and she started to doubt that she could make it around the bases.

"It will be okay." Riku whispered behind her.

_'Duh. I can do this.'_ Kairi then swiftly kicked the ball as hard as she could and started running. She didn't try to look where it went; she just kept going. When she reached the first base, she heard someone yell _'got it!'_ and then pushed herself harder. Kairi made it to the second base and was nearing the final one, but just before her foot touched it, she felt the ball hit her right in the back. Kairi stumbled, but kept her balance. She looked to the culprit—it was one of the other Blitzball players that she didn't know the name of that hit her. Kairi went and sat out with the rest of her team. She noticed Sora talking to this guy, but she was too far away to hear.

Riku passed with flying colors. As he was getting back in line, he stopped by. "Great job. You almost had it, but those stupid Blitzball players..."

"It's no big deal." Kairi responded.

"Well," Riku leaned in, "I know you wanted to impress him."

"Stop!" Kairi pushed him away playfully; her face reddening. _'Besides, I thought Riku hated Sora...'_

Class went on for another twenty minutes before they had to rush to change back into their clothes. Luckily, the gym was right next to the cafeteria, which was where Kairi had to go anyway.

O-o-o

Disney must have been the theme of the semester, because her Choir teacher, Miss Lenne told them that they would be doing a Disney concert. _'This must be what Namine wants me to sign up for...'_

Unfortunately, Tidus and his friends always acted up in this class, so it was hard to hear the details. Kairi stood next to Namine and waited for warm up, but her classmates were being too disruptive.

"Will you shut it already?!" Namine yelled. Everyone looked at her; even Kairi was surprised. "Miss Lenne is trying to teach!"

This happened nearly every day. Miss Lenne was so nice and understanding that she never really disciplined the students. That may have been bad on her part, but Kairi thought people would at least have some respect for her. It was one of the easiest classes.

"Well, if she was a better teacher maybe I wouldn't be bored out of my mind!" Tidus and a few of the others laughed.

"That's it. I'm telling the coach on you." Namine huffed and sat down. She was tired of it.

"Ooh, I'm _so_ scared." Tidus teased. "Go ahead."

"Dude, you know your dad is going to kill you." One of his friends mentioned, but Tidus merely shrugged it off.

Miss Lenne started playing the piano and a few of the students sang in key. Tidus and his friends just mocked everyone, messing up the harmony. _'Why can't she do anything about it? It's like she just ignores it!'_ Kairi thought. It wasn't fair at all.

There were thirty minutes left when Miss Lenne finally retrieved to her office. She was stressed out of her mind and all she could do was rest her head on her arm and stare at the wall. Namine went in there to console her along with a few others. Not wanting to listen to the ridicule from Tidus and his stupid posse, Kairi joined them.

"Should I just call the principal in here? Get them expelled?" Miss Lenne asked. "It was so nice when Tidus was suspended. We actually got some work done."

"You need to stand up to them!" Namine urged. "You have the authority! You're the teacher!"

"I know..."

Kairi didn't say anything. She just felt sorry for her.

"I'll get the principal if I have to. Those guys will never take this class seriously. Miss Lenne, you are a wonderful person and singer! You don't deserve those... those... butt heads!"

Miss Lenne smiled a little. "You're right." She lifted her head and looked over at Kairi. "Are you going to sign up for the concert?"

"I guess so." Kairi answered. "As long as I don't have any solos..."

"Whatever you get, you'll do great." Miss Lenne assured her. "You sing very well in soprano."

"T-Thank you."

She couldn't wait to just go home.

o-o-o

Xion invited Kairi, Namine and Selphie to her house that weekend. She had her camcorder on the kitchen table; Kairi knew exactly what that meant.

"OH GREAT ONE, LEND ME YOUR HAND!" Selphie said dramatically, falling to one knee and raising her arm towards Xion. Xion just blinked at her.

"Why are we doing this?"

"Just play along!" Selphie whined and then repeated herself. Kairi held the camera in place. Selphie loved making crazy videos to look back on, but really they knew they would only be embarrassments later. Whatever, it was fun.

"Stop right there!" Namine barged in, pointing a toy sword at Selphie. Selphie gasped and hid behind Xion.

"It's my alter ego! Quick! You must stop her before she merges with me!"

"M-merges? That's impossible!"

Kairi tried to hold back her laughter and hold the camera still. She moved out of the way so Namine could get past her. "We must become one again in order to open the door!"

"NEVER!" Selphie darted around the room and Namine chased her. She pretended to stab her in the back and Selphie fell to the floor. "I'm... dying... no..." Namine took the sword and pressed it on her stomach, making Selphie cry out.

"Ha!" Namine then hugged her. "We are one forever now! You can never escape!"

Kairi stopped recording and set the camera aside. They all fell over and laughed. "You guys are so... so... weird!" Kairi stated as she tried to catch her breath. Her friends may raise eyebrows to others, but she couldn't ask for anything else. After they all settled down, the doorbell sounded. Xion's mother answered it upstairs. Pretty soon, their friend Yuffie entered the room.

"There's pizza upstairs." She told them. The girls rushed to the kitchen.

"Hey, Xion. Let's make a bet." Yuffie said as she sat down at the table.

"Alright. Name it."

"Which of us will get laid first? You or me?" Yuffie smirked.

"I think we all know who will." Xion rolled her eyes, but laughed. Kairi, Selphie and Namine didn't really have anything to say. Yuffie and Xion were always competing with each other over silly things.

"Which of us do you think will get married first?" Selphie wondered out loud.

"I bet it will be Yuffie or Kairi." Xion answered.

"Yeah right. Marriage sucks." Yuffie said. "Kairi and I have been married since middle school... unless we're divorced now. I don't know. Kairi?"

"I think we're divorced, but that doesn't mean our sixty-five kids in the closet won't go without their father. Stop neglecting them, Yuffie!"

"Oh, bite me." Yuffie said. The rest of them laughed.

"Xion, why do you think I will get married first?" Kairi asked.

"Oh come on, you practically rape Sora with your eyes." Xion teased.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to marry him! It's just a crush..."

"One that has lasted for two years!" Namine clarified. Kairi pouted.

"Yeah, I don't know why you're so afraid to talk to him." Yuffie said. "It's not like he's some rare cyborg that's going to end up shooting us all to death."

"You never know! HE MIGHT BE!" Selphie gasped. "I bet he's got eyes in the back of his head and turns into a gundam!"

"He's just a bit intimidating. I'm afraid that he won't like me... or you guys. Or wouldn't understand, better yet." Kairi said sheepishly.

"Why? Because we're different?" Xion scoffed. "Well, if he's that much of a jerk then you shouldn't be crushing on him in the first place."

"I bet he's a nice person. You have to admit, even though we're all pretty easy to get along with, there are a lot of closed minded people." Selphie stated and then stuffed her face with pizza. Xion was a little more bitter than the rest of them, simply because she was the one that was picked on the most throughout middle school and some in freshman year.

"They wouldn't understand us. They don't want to. They want to stick to their stupid jock games and their stupid cheer leading routines. They laugh at anyone that isn't like them and they shove it in our faces. They make fun of my drawings all the time. _'What is that? Is that a Pokemon? Why are you drawing something like that? Are you a nerd?'_" Xion mocked. "You know, even my mom says my art will never amount to anything in the career world."

"But your drawings are amazing." Yuffie said sincerely. "You shouldn't take their bullshit. They're just jealous that you have talent in something and they don't. As for your mom... that's kind of sad..."

"Yeah, whatever."

Namine set her glass of water down and said, "Xion, I believe you can be anything you want to be. You just have to rise above and show them that your art _is_ worth something. We will support you—100% of the way."

Xion sighed. "Thanks, guys."

"Yeah, Xion. We're your best friends." Kairi added. "You'll always have us."

"Gah... too sappy!" Xion said, then chuckled.

"Yeah, that was." Kairi felt a little uncomfortable, but at least it was true. The others laughed and finished eating. They then went downstairs to play some video games and fell asleep a few hours later.

O-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**A/N:** Good times with friends. I guess I should reveal that a lot of this story is based on my life (huge shocker?). Leave a **review**!


	3. Lost in the Woods

**A/N:** Here is chapter three!

**Review responses:**

**Youkoso**: Thanks for pointing that stuff out! I always use "..." when there is a pause in dialogue. It's a habit. Thanks for your review!

**Blissfulnightrain**: I'm glad this story is already set apart from normal AU high school fics. Really, you don't know how happy that makes me to read that. Lol.

**Ian**: Dude, you really should make an account so I can reply to all of your reviews properly! Haha, this story will not be too much like the original. I'm changing Sora's personality and story quite a bit in order to be more realistic. Hope to hear more from you!

Thanks to **dinoboy18, MasterKaze, Englishhedgehog13 **(I know you're gonna say something about me ditching other fics lol), **laindessiel **and all other guest reviews that I wasn't able to reply to!

On with the chapter!

o-o-o

**Chapter Three**

o-o-o

As January progressed, that meant Valentines Day was approaching. Namine and Xion had been working on the flier for the Valentines Dance in art class and now it was up in all the hallways. It looked great in Kairi's opinion, but she didn't really want to be a part of it. She joined her friends at the lunch table.

"Valentines Day is so stupid." Xion said. "I don't understand why it's still celebrated."

"I think it's sweet. I wish I could spend it with someone." Namine said dreamily.

"Why don't you ask Riku to the dance?" Kairi suggested, making the blonde's face turn red. "I have a feeling he would say yes."

"W-what makes you say that?"

Kairi shrugged and sipped on her water bottle. _'I wish Sora would ask me. He probably already has a date... or several.'_

Selphie started going on about the voices that told her to do bad things in the dark. Kairi decided that now was the perfect time to just get her homework out of the way and followed Namine's example. "We have to read about twenty pages, don't we?" Kairi asked her. Namine nodded.

"By tomorrow. Good thing there are pictures. It's not that hard."

"I know..." Kairi tried to concentrate on the words in front of her. _'Why do we need to learn these things? I know how to read...'_ She had a severe case of Senioritis and she was just done with school. May could not get here fast enough.

She read one page and couldn't focus anymore. "What are you all going to do after graduation?" Kairi asked.

"I've been applying to Twilight University." Namine stated. "But if not I'll just go to the one here."

"I want to study graphic design." Xion said.

"I want to be a dentist!" Selphie exclaimed. "Probably will go to the college here. I don't want to leave you guys! But my mom suggests I go to one off the islands..."

"The last thing I need is for someone like you to be looking in my mouth." Xion joked.

"Oh, come on! I'll take really great care of you! Just let me learn how to use those sharp things first!" Xion looked horrified.

It seemed like all of her friends had everything figured out. Kairi didn't have a clue as to what she wanted to do in life. She knew her parents would be happy if she had a degree and was able to support herself in the future, but Kairi just didn't know which direction to go.

"Kairi, I think you'd be great at Foreign Language!" Selphie told her.

"You think so?"

"Yeah. OH, or acting classes!"

"You can major in that?" Kairi asked. She kind of regretted bringing up this conversation. Although it was normal to not know what to do immediately after high school, Kairi still could not help feeling unprepared. She was a pretty average student, but at the same time, she really didn't have any goals other than graduating.

When Kairi got home that day, she entered the kitchen and set her bag on the table. Her parents were working, but her older brother Takeshi was home. He was making some mac n' cheese.

"Hey." Kairi said to him as she pulled out her English book.

"Hi." Takeshi didn't really talk much. He was a lot like their father—silent but hardworking. All Takeshi really did was watch movies, do homework and play soccer. He was turning twenty in a few weeks and currently going to the local university. "When are you going to get your driver's license?" He asked.

Kairi shrugged. "I don't know."

That was another thing. Kairi was nearly eighteen and everyone but her seemed to have a license. She got her permit the year before, but never really went out to practice. It wasn't really a big deal to her, anyway. It wasn't like the school was that far away and her friends lived reasonable distances as well. She didn't go out that much and she definitely did not have the money to pay for gas.

Her dog, Scruffy, a terrier/poodle mix came running into the kitchen excitedly. Kairi pet his forehead, but he simply barked at her.

"Guess the neighbor is outside." Kairi concluded and got up to let her dog out the back door. Sure enough, he was. Scruffy raced over to his yard. Kairi watched from the window as he jumped nearly five feet in the air in front of him. After she saw him follow her neighbor into his garage (to give treats), Kairi turned around to check on her two rabbits, Bunny and Diamond. They were about six and seven years old; Diamond was smaller than Bunny. She was all brown with a white, diamond shape on her forehead, hence the name. She froze as Kairi came up to the cage and pet her. Bunny was chilling out in the corner of the cage; one ear flopped forward and the other was up. Bunny was white with brown spots.

She gave them food and then let Scruffy back in. He went to drink some water. Kairi loved her pets, but mostly she just loved animals in general. Her ideal job, if anything would be working with them. She just felt way more comfortable around them than with people.

That night, Kairi was chatting with her online friend, Olette. She knew nearly everything about her and vice versa. Kairi confided in Olette more than her friends in real life. It was just easier to type everything out. It was nearing 10:30p.m.

Lately Olette had been seeing a guy that didn't treat her well and Kairi was trying to persuade her to get out of it.

_"He doesn't seem to care about me. He's always out with his friends."_

_"Why can't you leave him?"_ Kairi typed and sent it.

_"Well, you know... something about love or whatever. Seifer just really gets on my nerves. But at the same time.."_

Kairi didn't know how to get through to her. Maybe she didn't understand because she had never really been in love before, but from the looks of it, it didn't seem like this Seifer guy was interested in Olette at all.

_"Anyway, when are you going to come back to Twilight Town? It would be cool to hang out again."_

"I don't know. My brother has friends there but they're all in college and doing different things. We don't really take many family trips anymore."

Kairi's door opened slightly and her father poked his head in. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" He said sternly.

"Yeah. Sorry." She told Olette she had to go and turned off her computer. Her dad shut the door without saying goodnight, but that was something Kairi was used to. She got in bed and tried to fall asleep.

o-o-o

The majority of the week was uneventful. Kairi's last class of the day was Ecology with her former soccer coach, Mr. Lee. "Alright, today we're going to go outside and look at birds, but mostly just because it's a nice day and I don't like being cooped up in this classroom. Mrs. Johnson's class will also be out there, so please don't wander off. There are too many of you to keep track of and I don't feel like worrying about anything." The class laughed at how down to earth he was. It was definitely a relief from her choir class the period before. Mr. Lee lined everyone up and they went through to back door towards the woods behind the school. Before they entered, Mr. Lee took roll. Mrs. Johnson's class came out of the door next to his classroom.

_'Oh gosh... Sora's there...'_ Kairi saw him with his hands behind his head, walking with a girl named Tifa. She was going on about something and he didn't seem too interested, but would smile every now and then probably just to be polite.

"Extra credit for anyone that can name bird types, tree types and whatever else you see that's not obvious like a fox or deer." Mr. Lee stated. "Although, there are types of deer..."

Mrs. Johnson used to be Kairi's assistant soccer coach. She greeted her. "Kairi, we miss you on the team." She said to her as about thirty students tried to cram into the woods.

"I don't have time to be playing, I'm sorry." Kairi lied. She had all the time in the world.

"Ohh, that's a Carolina chickadee!" One of the students pointed out. This trip was a little more like a hike, since it was a bit hilly and rugged. A few of Kairi's classmates complained, but she was fine.

"Great job." Mr. Lee picked up a leaf from the ground. It was wide on the sides and pointy at the top. He held it up so everyone could see. "What kind of tree did this fall from?"

_'Poplar.'_ Kairi thought. She was right. Another student got it.

She heard Tifa behind her. "So, like then she didn't call me and I got all mad like, what the hell, and..."

_'Poor Sora...'_

"Tifa, I'm sorry, but what's the point of this story? I need to pay attention."

"The point is you're coming with me to the Valentines Dance."

"Says who? What if I already have a date?" Sora walked past Kairi, brushing shoulders with her. He turned and apologized, but Tifa was following him so he just kept going. He went and stood near Mrs. Johnson, knowing that would shut Tifa up. Kairi giggled at them, but then remembered what Sora said and sunk a little.

As the classes went through the woods, Mr. Lee and Mrs. Johnson kept explaining little things here and there. Kairi stayed off to the side. Sora was still taking refuge from Tifa up near the teachers. Even though Tifa wasn't the brightest, she was a pretty girl. _'Maybe those are the types Sora goes for. Why would he ever look at someone like me?'_

There she went again—putting herself down. Kairi always wore her hair in a ponytail; her wardrobe consisted of over sized band or anime T-shirts and blue jeans. Her socks never matched and she didn't have a clue as to how to properly apply makeup. Yeah, a guy would flirt with her every now and then, but Kairi didn't know how to respond to those situations, especially if she wasn't interested. By certain "standards," Kairi wasn't exactly considered "hot" like some of the girls in her school.

She could see that Sora didn't care for what Tifa was saying. She could see him trying to get away from her, but just the fact that she was able to talk to him and Kairi wasn't was what made her insecure. She wanted to be outgoing like that. She wanted to be able to just walk up to Sora and-

"Ow!" Kairi ran straight into a tree. Her classmates turned to look. One of the girls helped her up.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." she was embarrassed once again. Kairi hated drawing attention to herself. Kairi liked to think she was a pretty tough person when it came to physical pain, so she just brushed it off. Her former coaches would not have expected any less.

"Be careful next time, Kairi." Mr. Lee told her. "You don't want to be clumsy like me." He put his hand up, showing the remaining half of his ring finger. The class cringed, but he merely laughed. He _said_ it was because a crocodile bit his finger off, but nobody could tell if that was the truth or not. He started leading the class again as Kairi tried to compose herself. Her nose hurt a little.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sora asked with concern.

"Oh, uh... yeah..." Kairi tried to look off in the opposite direction. The rest of the class walked forward, but she was too busy trying to accept that Sora was talking to her once again. They stood there for a few moments as Kairi regained her composure.

"Hold on." Kairi stopped and faced him. He inched closer to her with his hand. "You have something on your cheek." He informed her before leaning in and wiping it off. Kairi blushed and looked away once again. "It's gone now." He grinned, hoping that would make Kairi feel better. "Hey, don't sweat it. We all run into trees at some point in our lives..."

Kairi couldn't help but chuckle, but then realized that they were by themselves. "Uh... where is the class...?" Kairi deadpanned. They were in the middle of the woods. "How could thirty students just disappear like that?"

"You know, that's a good question..." Sora responded with a perplexed expression on his face. He tried to listen for any leaves rustling by footsteps. "Um... well... _okay then_. Thirty students disappear in a flash. It must be a new phenomenon. Maybe these woods are haunted!" Sora rubbed the back of his head nervously. He looked over the hill, but they were gone. "That's so weird..."

"Yeah..." Kairi realized she was actually responding to him without freaking out. She checked her surroundings, but didn't see anything familiar. She knew there was a path somewhere in these woods that she could reach her house from, but she didn't want to take Sora there. At the same time, she didn't know exactly which direction that was from this point either.

"Tifa will notice that I'm gone. If we just stay here then they're sure to come and find us again." Sora offered Kairi a seat on a tree stump.

"Oh, thanks." Kairi sat down. Sora just stared at her for a moment.

"I'm surprised." Sora said. "Usually girls wouldn't do that."

"What? Sit here?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. Half the girls in my class were afraid to mess up their hair or something. Do you come in the woods a lot?"

"I did when I was younger. I like the outdoors."

"That's cool. So do I."

Even though Kairi's heart was racing, she was somehow able to hide her nervous state around him. Sora just had that ability to make people comfortable, she concluded. They could hear squirrels jumping around the trees among other things, but still no one calling for them. Sora pulled out his cell phone.

"Hmm, just one bar. I'll try calling in a minute." Sora took a seat on the ground. He looked up to her as if he was asking her to check her signal, but Kairi shook her head.

"I don't have a cell phone." Kairi said.

"Oh, really? This is just some cheap pre-paid phone. I need it for work sometimes."

"Work?" Kairi recalled overhearing that before.

"Yeah. On most weekends I'm a cashier at Publix. I'm saving up for college."

"Oh, wow. I've never had a job before." Kairi said.

"Most people our age haven't. I just like to be ahead... and get out of the house. Even though I'm hoping to get a scholarship, it doesn't hurt to have a back up plan, right?" Sora smiled.

"Right." Well, good for him. Kairi mentally added it to her list of reasons why she liked him, but felt a bit awkward now. She tried to think of something to say, but the words weren't coming. Luckily, Sora seemed to have a conversation lined up for her.

"I've been to one of your soccer games before." He stated as he lay back on the leaves.

"Heh... I bet it wasn't very good. We never won..."

"Yeah, but that doesn't really matter. I heard most of the girls on the team didn't really have much experience, but you guys seemed to give it your all."

"Yeah. Most have never played before. Mr. Lee was a great coach, though."

"What about you?"

"Me?" She gave him a perplexed look.

"How long have you been playing?"

"Well... I guess you could say that I grew up in a soccer family. I played some when I was a kid, then maybe for a year or two in middle school, but not on the school's team. Then I played my sophomore and junior year... so..." Kairi didn't feel like doing math. "Yeah. My older brother Takeshi has played nearly his entire life. Before he graduated he was on the boy's soccer team."

"Takeshi Hikari? Oh, he's your brother?" Sora asked, a bit surprised. "Nice!"

"Y-You know him?"

"Yeah. My older brother Vanitas played soccer for about a year. I was invited to one of the banquets before. He seemed like a really cool guy. Wow, it's a small world. What's he doing now?"

"He's in college." Kairi answered and smiled a little. She hoped Sora wouldn't ask her about college too.

"Cool, cool. You seem to play for fun... and that's okay too. You're not bad!"

Unsure of exactly what that meant, Kairi just nodded.

"Sometimes my teammates are so competitive that they forget how much fun Blitzball can be. So... watching you during that game was sort of a relief. It reminded me of that." Sora said as he stared up into the sky. "It also showed me that you had another side to you rather than just the shy girl in my Spanish and Gym class."

"I see..." Kairi blushed.

"Even though I would love to be a professional Blitzball player, sometimes the pressure is just... annoying. It's like, WIN, WIN, WIN all the time!"

"Well, people expect a lot from you guys."

"Yeah, and being the captain doesn't help either." Sora sat up. Kairi giggled at the leaves in his pointy hair. "Hey, are you laughing at me?" Sora pulled out a few maple leaves, but missed many more.

"There are still... some..." Kairi pointed at them.

"Gah, stupid hair." Sora lowered his head in defeat. Not really thinking much about it, Kairi picked up a few leaves and threw them over his head. "Hey!" Sora said playfully as he tried moving out of the way. "Alright, have it your way!" Sora grabbed a wad of leaves and threw them in her direction, but Kairi laughed and dodged them. They started an all-out leaf war, but were only running in circles. After a few minutes, Kairi surrendered and plopped onto the ground. Sora joined her and fell back into the leaves once more.

"That was... that was fun." Kairi stated.

"Yeah. You're a pretty cool chick. It's nice to actually be able to talk to you. Again, you're so quiet!" There were a few moments of silence between them as they tried to calm down. Then Sora spoke again. "By the way, are you going to that Valentines Dance?"

"Probably not... I don't know." Kairi's heart pounded in her chest.

"Me neither." Sora chuckled, leaving Kairi slightly disappointed. "One, I'm not really into that stuff, but I know I will have to work. I have to reject anyone that asks me. It makes me feel bad, but I just can't afford to miss a shift." He hesitated once more, "If I had a choice, though... I know who I would ask."

"...who?" Kairi answered nervously.

"It's a secret." Sora stated as he nudged her arm and closed his eyes. Before he could react, Kairi dumped a wad of leaves on him and rolled out of the way.

"That's it!" Sora ran at her laughing; leaves sticking out of his hair and even some on his shirt. Kairi waited for his next move, but he was trying to psyche her out by switching directions. Before he got to her, they heard their names being called in the distance and immediately stopped. "Aww, I was having too much fun..." Sora whined.

Kairi didn't want this to end either, but it was time to come back to reality. They saw Mr. Lee along with the rest of the students.

"We're over here..." Sora waved to them unenthusiastically. Kairi came up next to him. When she wasn't looking, he sneaked one last attack by placing some leaves in her hair, then whistled as if he had nothing to do with it.

"What did I tell you guys about walking off?" Mr. Lee said firmly. "I'm too lazy for this."

"We didn't. You just didn't wait for us. Kairi _did_ slam her nose in the tree." Sora reminded him. "I stayed behind to make sure she was okay and then you all were gone!"

"Alright. Well, we need to hurry. The buses will arrive soon." They followed the class back to the edge of the woods. As Sora walked next to Kairi, their arms hit a few times, but neither of them said anything about it. To be nice, he picked the leaves he put in her hair out one by one. It was time for their classes to split up and for them to go home.

"Well, I had a fun time getting lost with you." Sora told her before going off with his class. "We should do it again sometime."

"Y-Yeah..." Kairi blushed.

"See you in class tomorrow?" Sora gave her a cheesy smile and then blended in with his classmates. Kairi was too much in a daze to notice Tifa glaring daggers at her.

He wasn't some scary cyborg after all.

O-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**A/N:** More fluff to come! Please take a moment to leave a **review!** :)


	4. That was Weird

o-o-o

**Chapter Four**

o-o-o

"He totally likes you." Selphie stated at the lockers after Kairi told her what happened.

"Y-you think so?" Kairi could hardly believe it herself. The possibly of Sora returning her feelings was scary, but at the same time she felt she was over-thinking the situation way too much. _'Maybe he's just naturally that way with everyone. But then, what did he mean? Who would he have asked to the dance? It felt like he meant me but I couldn't tell... argh...'_

"What guy has an all-out leaf war with a girl he doesn't like unless he's trying to decapitate her with the leaf blades? In which case, that might make a pretty cool anime. I could dig it." Selphie and Kairi hurried off to the buses.

"You're so sadistic." Kairi said and waved to her.

o-o-o

Sora arrived home around five after a strenuous Blitzball practice. He showered and then fed his cat, Miko before settling in front of the TV.

"Hey, John says it's your turn to do the dishes." Vanitas told him as he walked by with his friend Ventus. Sora rolled his eyes and got up. John was their stepfather. He usually stayed down in the basement when he wasn't working at the office. Sora's mother was often out on business trips. He went into the kitchen and groaned at the seemingly endless amount of plates and cups.

_'Three people live here regularly and yet it looks like we just had Thanksgiving dinner... ugh.'_ Sora thought as he started washing them. Although he wasn't too fond of his stepfather, he wasn't the type to be arrogant and disrespectful, unlike his twenty-one year old brother. His mother always taught him to respect his elders. Vanitas seemed to miss that little lesson and was more on the defiant side. He argued over anything.

Miko rubbed her head across his leg and purred. Sora tried to sing to cure his boredom, but it wasn't working. _'Hanging out with Kairi today was pretty fun. Maybe I should try to go to the dance... I wonder if I can get off.'_

When Sora was done, he went ahead and did his other chores before Vanitas or his stepfather got after him for that too. He was exhausted and yet he still had homework. As Sora was fixing himself a plate, Tifa called on his cell phone.

"Hello?" Sora answered. He could have just ignored the call, but he knew Tifa would call over and over if he didn't.

"Sora! Yay! How are you?"

"I'm alright. Hey, I was just about to-" She cut him off and started to gossip about her day and such. Sora took his plate out of the microwave and practiced selective hearing—something he had perfected over the years. Tifa was his ex-girlfriend, but it wasn't like they ended on bad terms. He knew she wanted him back.

But frankly, he was tired of it. Sora and Tifa had absolutely nothing in common.

"Listen, Tifa..." Sora was interrupted once again. "Tifa!" That got her attention. "I have to go. I'll catch you later."

"Aww, I'll miss you, honey bun."

"Uh huh. Bye." he hung up quickly. Sighing in relief, Sora grabbed his plate and took it up to his room, something he wouldn't be able to do if his mother was home. Vanitas stopped him in the hallway.

"You coming to my fight tomorrow?"

"Fight? What fight?" Sora gave him a baffled look.

"This guy thought he could whoop me, so he challenged me to a match." Vanitas grinned.

"That sounds stupid. I didn't know you still went around brawling. Why don't you make _dad_ proud and do something productive?"

"Oh, because our _dead_ father is totally going to ground me. Fuck off, Sora." Vanitas returned to his room. Sora slammed his door and set his dinner on his desk. Sora looked at the picture of him and his father on his nightstand.

_'I miss you, dad...'_

His father died from a heart attack when Sora was ten years old. Even though Sora's last name legally changed when his mother married his stepfather, he preferred to keep _Kiyamoto_ instead of John's last name, _Aoki. _His mother also kept it for business purposes.

He knew that Vanitas missed their father as well, but of course he would never show it. Vanitas lived to prove he was better than others. If there was one thing their parents instilled in them, it was to always strive for the best. Sora's mother was the CEO of a telemarketing company. When his father was alive, even though he managed a CD store, he was still great at what he did. Sora wanted to make his parents proud more than anything. However, constant fighting between his mother, stepfather and Vanitas only made him distance himself from the family. Sora used to keep his door open, now it was almost always locked. He took up a job so that he didn't have to be home on the weekends, but he knew his mother would have made him do it anyway. Vanitas was unemployed, which also caused a rift between him and his career-driven mother.

He heard loud music coming from Vanitas' room next to him. It was a common occurrence. Pulling out his phone, he looked through his contacts to see if there was anyone he would be remotely interested in hanging out with. Wakka's parents never allowed anyone over and Tidus, well, they weren't _really_ friends to begin with. Plus they weren't exactly on the best terms, either. As he rolled over Riku's name, he was a little surprised that he had his number in here, considering he got this phone only a year before. They hadn't talked to each other since freshman year.

_'I do wonder what he's been up to. Maybe he's over it.'_ Sora clicked his name and put the phone to his ear. It was his house number. He heard a child's voice answer the phone.

"Hello? Harada residence! This is Mari!"

_'Hah, I wonder how old she is now.'_ Sora thought. "Hey, Mari. It's Sora. Do you remember me?"

"Sora? Nope!" He heard Riku's voice in the background. "Who would you like to speak with?"

_'She's so polite.'_ Sora cleared his throat. He listened to Riku trying to take the phone from his sister, but she wouldn't give it to him. "Hey, you know what? I must have the wrong number." Sora hung up in a hurry and sighed. He set his phone down and fell back onto his pillow. The music blared through the walls. Unless Vanitas went out, he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. He could have just gone down to the guest room, but if he did he would have to wash all the sheets and clean it from top to bottom because his mother would notice.

And Sora just didn't have the energy.

o-o-o

Scruffy followed Kairi's mother around the house. It was a cleaning day and Kairi wasn't really into it. She scrubbed the bathroom sink with a lemon scent cleaner. Her mother stopped at the door to check on her, then walked off. Koru was coming in and out of the house with his friends.

_'I wish he would help for once.'_ Kairi thought to herself. Takeshi was up in his room doing homework. After Kairi was done cleaning the bathroom, she went to clean the rabbit cage. Her mother started on dinner.

"Thank you for cleaning the bathroom." Mrs. Hikari told her. Kairi nodded. She liked helping out, but she didn't like that her brothers always got away with not doing anything around the house. Sure, Takeshi doing homework was fine, but the most he would do was cut the grass. Kairi was trying to get in the habit of doing her own laundry. She may not have been close to her dad, but that didn't mean he had to work ten hours a day just to come home and do more work. He was a mail man on the military base. Her mother worked at a Boy Scout shop most days.

Kairi chatted with Olette for a few hours that night. Scruffy was laying on her bed. Kairi was so excited about finally having a conversation with Sora and she couldn't wait to see him in school. Namine messaged her on instant messenger.

_"Hey, have you picked your essay topics yet?"_

_"Nope. I don't know what to write about."_

_"Oh, well Mrs. Rogers sent an e-mail stating that she was going to split the due dates. The first paper is due in March."_

_"What? Ugh..."_

This was probably better for Kairi, but at the same time, she wasn't in the mood to talk about homework. She picked up the phone and called Riku.

"Hey, Kairi. What's up?"

"Ask Namine to the dance."

"W-What?"

"She needs a distraction from school work and I know she likes you, so just freaking do it." Kairi demanded.

"Okay, okay. I'll ask her sometime this week..." he was quiet for a moment, "Hey, something weird happened earlier. I think Sora called me."

"What?"

"Mari answered. I heard her say his name, but then she said the person hung up."

"That's interesting..." Kairi figured that now was a good time to ask, "What happened between you guys, anyway?"

Riku let out a huge sigh and sounded like he was adjusting his position or something. "It was stupid. It was my first year being in the school band and Sora promised he would make it to the final concert. I heard Tidus and Wakka talking him out of it, though, and he said the school band was just stupid or whatever. At the time, it hurt because it seemed like he was choosing them over me. Now that we're seniors I'm pretty much over it, but we just never got around to talking again. Sora went one way and I went the other."

"That is a pretty stupid reason." Kairi admitted. "But I could see where you're coming from... I guess. You two were best friends."

"That's what I don't understand. I just figured that we were growing apart. It happens. Besides, he's done some other things over the years. I don't think I'm exactly ready to forgive him yet, even if I am over the initial fight." Riku chuckled some to lighten the mood. "Anyway, I have to go. Mari just turned on Wii sports and you know I don't have a choice in that matter. I'll ask Namine to the dance."

"Yeah, man up!" Kairi teased, then hung up. Namine left her several messages in her absence.

Kairi made sure to turn her computer off before her dad scolded her this time. Her mind was filled with the events that happened earlier and she was ready to drift into dream land.

O-o-o

The next day, Kairi made sure to pay a little more attention to her appearance. She actually wore her hair down; something she rarely did at school. Kairi just liked putting her hair up and not having to deal with it, but it actually wasn't that bad. It was a a few inches past her shoulders.

She got a few glances here and there, but only her friends said something about it.

"It looks better like that." Namine told her in English class. "Did something happen?" She knew her too well...

Kairi forgot to tell Namine about her incident with Sora the day before, but she didn't have time now because class was starting. She was kind of nervous to go to Spanish class. _'Is it weird? We just talked yesterday and now I'm doing something different? No... you're thinking too much. Just stop.'_ Kairi hated it when she did this. Mrs. Rogers went on about the essay changes, but all Kairi could do was anticipate what Sora was going to say.

_'It's not a big deal. Just calm down.'_ Kairi tried telling herself. She was right. One little change for once was not going to make a difference.

And sure enough, it didn't.

"Hey, Kairi." Sora greeted as he put his homework on the teacher's desk.

"Hi..." Kairi tried not to keep eye contact for too long. Well, there was one advantage to wearing her hair down today—she could hide how red she was. Sora went back to his seat. Kairi didn't dare to look back at him.

_'Kairi looks pretty today.'_ Sora thought as he got out his notebook. He made sure his phone was on silent before the teacher walked in. Tifa had sent him a few messages.

_"Let's hang out after school!"_

_"I'm working."_ Sora replied and then put his phone away. As the class went on, he caught himself staring off into Kairi's direction. She kept her back turned, only occasionally passing a note with Selphie when the teacher wasn't looking.

Class seemed to go slower than usual.

O-o-o

That night, Sora had a long line at his register. Someone bought a ton of fruit and vegetables and he had to try and remember the codes for each one, as well as explain to the customer that there were many different types of lettuce. The customer snapped at him and he just rang up the rest of her items without complaint. Sora tried to smile at each new person, but even that was hard for him.

"Did you find everything you were looking for?" He asked as he scanned the items without looking up.

"Hi Sora bear." It was none other than Tifa.

"Uh... hi." Sora noticed she was buying a pregnancy test among other things, but said nothing about it. There were a few people behind her in line. "Your total is $18.67."

Tifa sighed and swiped her credit card. "What time do you get off?"

"Eleven."

"Perfect! Come to I-Hop with me."

"Tifa, I'm really tired." Sora knew he was too nice to his own good, but he was also at work. A few people were getting impatient behind Tifa. _'Why the hell is she buying a pregnancy test? Ugh...'_

Tifa noticed his disturbed expression. "It's for my sister."

Sora paused for a moment. _'Her sister is like... twelve.'_ He handed her the receipt. "Have a nice night." Tifa pouted and walked off.

Sora shuddered at the memory of the night he and Tifa took their relationship a step further. It was about four months before, but the fact that she was buying that only made him nervous. _'She's probably just doing it to get my attention...'_

Tifa had done some pretty crazy things in the past when she felt like she was being ignored. Sora knew he shouldn't talk to her anymore, but he didn't like hurting people's feelings. He kept a lot of things to himself. He would stand up for his friends or family in a heartbeat, but when it came to someone like Tifa, Sora just couldn't be mean. She had been through a lot in her life. He couldn't help but worry about her.

Someone started putting what seemed like an endless amount of items up and had an envelope of coupons. Sora smiled at them weakly and took the envelope. It was going to be a long night.

O-o-o

Sora caught up with his manager just before the end of his shift. "Hey, I'd like to request a day off."

Mr. Harold was a pretty strict person; Sora knew he was just wasting his breath but he figured he would try anyway. "What for?"

_'Should I lie?'_ Sora wondered, but since the dance was on Valentines Day, there was really no way he could come up with something, unless...

"My parents are going out of town for Valentines Day and they want me to watch my little sister."

Sora didn't have a little sister, but the manager didn't need to know that. He contemplated for a while. "Fine."

"R-really?" Sora was a little surprised. "Thanks!" His manager walked off.

And now he had to figure out how he was going to ask Kairi to the dance while he ignored Tifa's desperate pleas for his attention.

O-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed and added this story to their favorites so far. We're just getting started! I hope this chapter didn't feel rushed, because that's not what I intended.

Please continue to leave lovely reviews. They brighten my day.


	5. Hanging Out

**A/N:** Hey, everyone! I'm back with another chapter. Ready for some more SoKai time? Please don't forget to leave a **review**.

Thanks to **SorasGirl333, Fujubop, blissfulnightrain, coreypinkston31 **and any **Guest** reviews that related to this story. (If I tried to write "All or Nothing" right now it would be half-assed. Please do not beg me to update another story in a "review" unless you actually say something about this one. You can PM me).

On with the chapter! I'm posting this when I'm sick. Be happy. (It was already written, I just edited it a little. Sorry for any mistakes I may have missed).

o-o-o

**Chapter Five**

o-o-o

Mrs. Hikari picked Kairi up right after school that Monday for a doctor's appointment. Kairi was no stranger to the hospital; she had been in and out for various surgeries since she was born. She was a bit under developed, but since then she's been through many reconstructive surgeries and now her condition was manageable as long as she listened to the doctors. It was embarrassing and only her parents and close friends knew about this. Kairi didn't like to tell people. She felt it was gross and that people would make fun of her if they knew. She was also worried about what a future boyfriend would think.

She had a small surgery over Christmas break and this was just a post op. Kairi looked around for a certain doctor when they entered the office.

Dr. Fleming had known Kairi since the day she was born; he was the one that practically saved her life when she wasn't breathing well. He did reconstructive surgery on her and since then Kairi has just followed up with him throughout the years. He wasn't her primary doctor anymore but he was still interested in how she was doing.

Now she had Dr. Yu. He was a little more reserved and Kairi didn't know him that well, but he was alright. Kairi hated getting new doctors because of her extensive medical history; it was tough explaining things to them especially since her condition wasn't exactly common. She made doctors scratch their heads for years and although that was slightly amusing, it could also be really terrible when she wasn't feeling well.

"Dr. Fleming already left for the day. We'll let him know you stopped by." The receptionist told her as she signed in. Kairi went to sit by her mother. They were seen about ten minutes later. Dr. Yu came in holding a clipboard and going through some papers. It wasn't a long visit.

"Have you been doing your medical stuff every day?" Her mother asked.

"I've been trying to." Kairi said, knowing she would get scolded.

"If you don't want to listen to the doctors then I don't want to waste my time." She got into the car and slammed the door. Kairi got in and fastened her seat belt.

_'I don't think she really understands.'_

What would take most people fifteen minutes took Kairi an hour and a half. She didn't like doing _medical stuff. _Kairi was also pretty stubborn.

She went home and did it anyway.

o-o-o

The next day, Kairi and Namine were chatting about various things before class when Riku entered the room. He greeted Kairi, but then turned to Namine. "Could I talk to you out in the hallway?" He asked. Namine nodded and shyly followed him out, only to come back beaming a minute later. Kairi didn't have to ask, but Namine was going to tell her either way.

"I have a date to the dance!"

"About time." Namine gave her a perplexed look. "Oh, come on! Riku is so obvious!"

"So you knew?"

"Of course I did." Kairi smiled at her. Mrs. Rogers turned on the TV for the morning announcements. Sora and Axel appeared on the screen once again. Sora was just as bubbly as ever and Axel got away with a bunch of snide remarks. _'He's so adorable.' _Class proceeded as usual.

o-o-o

Their Spanish teacher was absent that following Tuesday. There was no substitute to replace her so the class had to be split into other classes. Kairi and Selphie went to the French class while Sora was put across the hall in German class. Xion greeted them when they came in.

"Just sit anywhere." Mr. Boivert said. Kairi and Selphie found empty seats near the back. She had this teacher a few years ago for a mandatory freshman class. He was bald and always wore striped shirts and sweaters. Selphie started writing random things on a piece of paper and showed them to Kairi.

_"I'm an assassin."_ It read. Kairi raised her eyebrow. She took it back and wrote something else. _"Blood!"_ Kairi tried to hold back her laughter as Selphie drew a picture of a samurai doing something weird. She tapped Xion's shoulder and showed it to her.

"What the?" Xion whispered; a smile creeping on her lips. Mr. Boivert noticed them.

"Is something funny?" Mr. Boivert gave them a sketchy look, but then noticed someone sleeping in the back of the classroom. "I know when you're sleeping... I know when you're awake... I will haunt you in your _dreams_!" He slammed his hand down on the desk next to the the guy, making him jump.

"Just like Freddie?" Xion blurted out. The class roared with laughter.

"Yeah, Mr. Boivert! You _do_ look like Freddie Kruger!"

"Oh!" Mr. Boivert started ranting in French as he went back to the front. Kairi just sat there and tried to contain her laughter.

"We're going to buy you a red and black striped sweater!" Another student called out. "With a matching hat!"

"Does this happen often?" Kairi asked Xion. She nodded.

"Do you have a friend named Jason?" Xion asked and Mr. Boivert just rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright. Settle down before I... oh, never mind. Just watch this french film and shut up."

Kairi wished her Spanish class was half as entertaining.

o-o-o

Kairi was at her locker when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned only to see Sora giving her a cheesy grin. Kairi blushed and made sure she had everything before closing her locker and walking with him.

"What's up?" Sora began as they maneuvered through the hallway. "I don't have practice today, miraculously, so I came to see what you were up to."

"Oh... nothing, really. I was just going to go home. What did you have in mind?"

"Hmm, I was thinking we could go and hang out at the beach or something."

_'He actually wants to hang out with me...?'_

Kairi wanted to go more than anything, but she would have to inform her parents first. Sora let her use his phone as they stood outside of the school doors. Selphie nearly passed them. She stopped to say hello. Kairi got off the phone and gave it back to Sora.

"Thank you. Hey, Selphie!"

"What are _you two_ up to?" Selphie teased.

"I was asking Kairi if she wanted to hang out at the beach for a while." Sora said and lightly pinched her cheek. He knew he was a flirt, but he just couldn't help it.

"Oh, okay! I have to hurry and get to the bus. Be good!" Selphie ran off. Kairi followed Sora to the student parking lot. His car looked fairly new. It was a Jetta, but Kairi didn't really know much about car names. Sora opened the door for her and then went around to his side. Kairi's nerves escalated as he shut the door; she had not been alone with him since the incident in the woods.

"This is one of my mom's cars. Mind if I turn on the radio?" Sora asked as he put his fingers on the knob. Kairi shook her head and smiled. As Sora searched for a station, he talked some more. Kairi noticed that he was always leading in conversations and felt kind of bad for it, but for goodness sakes, this was the guy she crushed on for nearly two years. She didn't want to mess anything up.

"What kind of music do you like?" Kairi asked after Sora settled on the light rock station.

"Anything, really. One minute it's this, the next it could be hip hop. I listen to words more than anything."

"Me too! I don't discriminate between genres."

Sora chuckled a little as he pulled out of the parking lot. _'I wonder what else we have in common. Hmm... what should I ask next?' _He came up to a stop sign. "Alright, what is your all-time favorite band?"

"I don't have favorites, per se." Kairi paused and absentmindedly ran her finger along her chin in a thoughtful manner.

_'Me neither.'_ Sora thought. He noticed what Kairi was doing as he turned the corner. "That's cute."

"H-Huh?" Kairi immediately stopped and stared out the window. Sora merely laughed. After getting out of school traffic, they finally made it to the beach ten minutes later. He waited for her to get out of the car and then they began walking toward the shore. Sora put his hands in his pockets.

"Do you come here often?" He asked.

"Only when my friends want to. I don't have a car and my house is about fifteen minutes away from here."

"I see. I live about five minutes that way." Sora pointed to her left. "So... you grew up on the islands?"

"Yeah. I've lived in the same house my entire life."

"Ah. I grew up here too, but I've moved around a bit. The house I'm in now... I've probably been in for about four years."

"I see." Kairi said. They reached the shore.

"Want to sit down?" Sora asked.

Kairi thought for a moment, but then shook her head. "I'd rather walk. I was sitting in class all day."

"Hah, true." Sora said. They kept their distance from the shoreline since they weren't really dressed for the beach. Kairi already had sand in her tennis shoes. Sora put his hands behind his head and seemed content, but the silence was a bit uncomfortable for her. She had a million questions for him, but just couldn't form the words together.

"I don't get a lot of time to myself or to hang out with friends. I work on weekends and I have Blitzball practice four times a week. The other day is game day. Now that I'm eighteen, they're able to give me more work hours. I'm not looking forward to the summer..."

"Sounds like you're pretty busy."

"Yeah. I should be working on my video project right now, but I like this better."

"Video project?"

"For broadcasting class. We've been working on the monthly episode."

Once a month, the North Destiny High News Network (NDNN) would broadcast an hour long show during fourth period. Most people looked forward to it because it meant they got out of doing classwork, but it was really amateur stuff (as many people described). Kairi liked Sora's segments and videos, however—not because she thought he was the most adorable person in existence, but because he was actually good at what he did. _'It's totally not a bias.'_ Kairi convinced herself.

"I liked your music video for that Linkin Park song." Kairi told him.

"Oh, thanks. That one took a long time to make."

"Oh, I know it. Sometimes I make videos in my spare time. A three minute video can take five hours."

"I know, right? I'd like to see that sometime."

"Hah, maybe... my computer isn't the best so I'm stuck with just the standard video editor."

"I can hook you up with a better program." Sora said. "I'll give you the CD later so you can install it."

"Thanks!"

Kairi was a bit surprised at how much she and Sora had in common. Despite the fact that he seemed out of her league, having a normal conversation with him actually made her feel better about being around him. He wasn't like the regular "jocks" at all. He was down to earth, funny and really made her feel at ease despite the fact that her heart just wanted to jump out of her chest.

"Anyway," Sora interrupted her thoughts, "This next episode should be pretty decent. I have a few comedy skits. Oh, there's one where..." Sora stopped himself, "I guess I should just let you watch it."

"I look forward to it!" Kairi said happily.

"So what else do you like to do?" Sora asked.

"Um... well, I like drawing... and writing. Singing can be fun too."

"Ohh! Sing something for me!" Sora said excitedly, but Kairi shook her head quickly.

"No way!"

"Aww, come on!" Sora knew she wouldn't, but it was fun to tease her. "I couldn't sing if my life depended on it."

"I just joined the school choir with my friend. We have a concert in April." Kairi told him.

"Oh, that's cool. I may check that out if that's the only way I'll be able to hear you sing." Sora's arm bumped with hers, but he didn't move away.

"Hah... do you like video games?" Kairi asked.

"When I have time for them. I used to play RPG's and fighting games all the time. You?"

"I'm picky when it comes to games, but there are a few I like. I like fighting games!"

"Sweet! We should play together sometime." Sora said, then let out a deep sigh as he stretched his arms in the air. "Sometimes it's nice to just relax like this. Thanks for coming out here with me, Kairi."

"N-no problem."

They looped around and arrived back at Sora's car. He opened the door for her once again. After they both had their seat belts on, Sora asked, "So... where is your house? I'll drop you off, if that's alright."

"How else would I get home?" Kairi joked. As long as Sora didn't go into her room right now, she didn't mind him coming to her house. She gave him directions in between conversation. Sora was such a funny guy. _'Again—not biased.'_ They were at her house before they knew it. Scruffy was outside sniffing around. He came around to Sora's side of the car and waited.

"Don't worry, Scruffy's all bark and no bite." Kairi told him. Sora turned off the car. "Scruffy!" Kairi called and the black terrier mix came running. She pet him happily as he tried to lick her face, but Kairi didn't like that so she avoided it. Sora leaned against the car with his hands in his pockets and watched her. Scruffy went up and sniffed him. Sora slowly leaned down to pet him, but Scruffy had to get used to him. After a few moments, he was wagging his tail.

"Aww, he likes you." Kairi stated as she watched Sora interact with her dog. He seemed to like animals just as much as she did. Scruffy lay on his side as Sora rubbed his belly.

"Haha, he's adorable. I just have a cat." Sora said as he stood up.

"I love cats! I also have two rabbits." Kairi said. Sora gave her an interested look. "They're inside... if you want to see."

"I definitely do, but it will have to wait 'til next time. Homework is calling..." Sora rolled his eyes and groaned.

_'Next time...'_ Kairi noted. Sora went around to his back door and grabbed his notebook. He wrote something, ripped out the page and put the notebook back. He folded the paper before giving it to her. Kairi took it with a confused look on her face.

"Don't read that until you get inside."

"Oh, okay. Well, thanks for bringing me home. I had fun today." Kairi told him, snapping out of her reverie. She didn't want him to leave.

"Sure. I like hanging out with you. I had fun too." Sora pet Scruffy one more time before going back around to the driver's side. "See you at school." He waved. Sora waited for her and Scruffy to get inside and then left.

Kairi opened the note he gave her. _"Here's my number. Call me any time. :)"_

"Awww!"

o-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**A/N:** What did you think? Please take the time to review.


	6. Sweet Stuff

**A/N: **Moving on along! I love my reviewers. You guys are the best ever.

o-o-o

**Chapter Six**

o-o-o

Kairi didn't have the guts to call Sora. Even though they could talk at school during Spanish and gym class, she just didn't feel like they were on that level yet. She also didn't want any awkward silences over the phone. Sometimes she felt like Sora would hint at wanting her to call, but she was never quite sure. He was always sending mixed messages—at least in her mind and Kairi was terrible when it came to over-thinking.

Choir practice started the first week of February. Kairi joined Namine in the theater where practice was being held. Kairi assumed that this would go way better than class since Tidus and his stupid friends weren't around to ruin anything. Miss Lenne arrived and they started to warm up.

_"Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So..."_

Kairi liked singing. Maybe Namine was right—if she could learn how to do it properly she might not be that bad at it. Namine had a pretty voice from what Kairi heard. They started on a Lion King song.

_'Crap, I forgot to ask my parents about the senior trip.'_ Kairi noted as she tried to stay on key. Miss Lenne sang the solo part. After the song was done, she stood in front of everyone.

"That sounded... alright. Now we're going to learn how to harmonize. Who is bold enough to sing the solo I sang? I need one girl and one guy."

"I'll do it!" Namine raised her hand. Another boy named Josh raised his.

Miss Lenne was so much happier now that she had a group of people that were listening to her. It was nice to see her eccentric and bubbly side. Practice ended forty five minutes later. Namine drove Kairi home.

"You used to be shy, Nami. What happened?" Kairi asked.

"I stopped caring what others thought of me."

"I wish I could do that..." Kairi sighed.

"I know how you feel, but you just have to accept that not everyone is going to like you. Then you have to accept the fact that you have me, and Xion... and Selphie... and your family too. In the end, they're the ones that matter, because those that matter don't mind and..." Namine tried to remember the famous quote.

"Those that mind don't matter. I know this. My birthday has been overrun by Dr. Seuss my entire life since we have the same one." Kairi joked.

"Oh yeah, your birthday _is_ coming up!" Namine said as she pulled into Kairi's driveway.

"Yup. Riku's is in a few days." Kairi gathered her things. "Thanks. I'll see you at school!"

"Bye!"

Kairi's dad was in the kitchen watching TV when she walked into the door. "Hi, dad." She said as she placed her purse on the table.

"Hi."

Kairi pulled out the information sheet about the senior trip and handed it to him. "We're going to Disney World and Universal Studios for the senior trip and I would really like to go..." Her dad adjusted his glasses and looked over the paper.

"Three hundred dollars?"

"I don't _have to_," Kairi said.

"We'll see." He set the paper on the counter. He didn't say anything else, so Kairi just went to check on the rabbits before going upstairs. She picked up the phone and sat in her bed.

_'I want to call him...'_ Kairi started to dial Sora's number. She ended up memorizing it due to many failed attempts before. _'I think calling after a week and a half is okay, right?'_ Kairi took a deep breath and pressed the last one. It started ringing. _'Why am I so nervous...? Gah...'_

_"Thanks for calling, but I'm not able to come to the phone right now. Leave me a message!"_ Sora's cheerful voice sounded. Kairi's heart nearly melted. She heard the beep, but ended up hanging up.

_'Well, I tried.'_

o-o-o

Xion wasn't too happy the next day. She just stared at her lunch while Namine and Selphie tried to figure out what was wrong with her. Finally, she gave in and told them.

"Tifa and her friends have been picking on me. In first period they were making fun of my art... as usual. I don't get it—I mind my own business and never say anything to them, yet they do this?"

"They're just stupid!" Selphie said angrily.

"But seriously, it makes me doubt my abilities. They showed my drawing to the entire class and people were laughing at it. Maybe I'm not as good as I think I am."

"That's nonsense! Xion, we've told you countless times! You have a lot of talent and one day you're going to use that and show everyone how wrong they are!" Namine said.

"Yeah, don't listen to the haters." Kairi added. She noticed Sora and Wakka heading in their direction.

"Hey, Wakka... I think I'm going to sit here today." Sora set his lunch tray down next to Kairi. Her friends were quiet. Wakka gave him a strange look.

"Why? They're a bunch of nerds, man."

Sora merely shrugged. Wakka walked off. "Hey, I hope you all don't mind."

"No, no..." Selphie said, but then went back to comforting Xion. Xion just continued to rant.

"What's going on?" Sora whispered to Kairi, who was still trying to accept the fact that he chose to sit with them at lunch just out of the blue. She worried about what he would think of her friends.

"Tifa is just a bitch." Selphie told Xion. Sora listened closer. "She makes fun of others to hide the fact that she's just pitiful inside."

"That may be so, but she still gets on my every last nerve. Why can't she just leave me alone?" Xion groaned.

"Is Tifa bothering you? I can talk to her." Sora said.

"Don't bother."

Sora turned to Kairi and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'll make sure to tell Tifa to leave your friends alone. She likes attention and sometimes she gets a bit out of hand." He remembered her buying that pregnancy test and cringed. _'I guess I should ask her what was up with that... I really hope that wasn't for her sister, but I also hope that it wasn't hers either... but dang, we did that over four months ago so if she was... no. It wouldn't be mine. Just stop thinking about it.'_

Kairi almost felt like he was defending her, but then again she did recall them dating for a while. She nodded and said, "Thank you."

After lunch, Sora met up with Wakka and a few other people from the team before the bell rang. "Yo, man. We thought that was a little weird. You like that girl?"

Sora shrugged. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. She's cool."

"Ey, no prob if you do, but next time, warn us. We've got some haters." Wakka pointed to Tifa. "She was glarin' at you the whole time, man."

Ignoring that, Sora asked, "So you don't care about the fact that they're _nerds_?" Sora eyed him suspiciously.

"What is this? High school?" Wakka thought for a moment. "Oh, wait... whatever, man! She wears those baggy clothes, but I bet she's got somethin' under there."

Sora shook his head and laughed. "Shut up."

"Hah! 'Ey, Axel's having a get together tonight. Be there!"

"Alright."

o-o-o

Riku invited Kairi and Namine, as well as a few of his friends out for his birthday dinner at a Chinese buffet. Kairi rode with Riku to the restaurant.

"So... have you been talking with Namine?" Kairi asked him.

"Yeah, we call each other every now and then. She's a really nice girl. You know, we both are applying to Twilight University."

"I know." Kairi was happy for her friends. "I hope you both get in."

"It sort of motivated me to be more serious about the future. Namine is pretty determined."

"Yeah, she tends to push people without meaning to."

"That's good, though. I like that about her."

Sure enough, Namine arrived on time. She was waiting by her car. Kairi and Riku greeted her. A few of his other friends were standing at the door.

"Happy birthday, Riku!"

Kairi wasn't really good at talking to people she didn't know. Riku's friends were cool, but she was too shy to participate in the conversation. Even Namine was a bit quiet, but Riku made sure to talk with them so they didn't feel left out or anything. One of his friends went on about a video game that Kairi never heard of and they started talking about that. Kairi and Namine got up to get more food.

"I feel kind of bad." Namine said to her while they were going through the buffet.

"How come?"

"Riku and I like each other, but we don't really have that much in common."

"Oh. Well, you've only been talking with him for a little bit. I say give it time."

"I guess you're right. How are things with Sora?"

"It's going well... I guess."

"I know I sound like a complete hypocrite, but you should really be more confident. You've got so much going for you. Maybe Sora can see that."

"You think so?" Kairi asked.

"Kairi, we've been best friends since Kindergarten. Even I can see it. If you can't tell that Sora likes you by now, then I don't know what he has to do."

Kairi blushed. "I don't think he would actually date me."

"See? There you go again!" They returned to the table and their conversation ceased.

Kairi wanted to believe that Sora had feelings for her, but at the same time, Namine was right. She didn't have confidence. She was afraid of getting hurt. She had never been in a relationship before and she didn't really know what to do. Even though she really liked Sora, she was a bit intimidated by him. He was popular, well-liked and was going places in life. _'I would probably just drag him down...'_ she thought. It wasn't that she didn't believe that she wouldn't be able to get a good job, she just felt like their relationship may be more of a mentor one than anything. She also knew that there were prettier girls out there. Could she really keep him with her? Kairi figured she was thinking realistically, but deep down she knew she was just being ridiculous and thinking too much once again.

_'I need to get over myself...'_

o-o-o

Sora, Axel, Wakka and a few others were over at Axel's house. They were playing a game of Halo while Sora sat and watched. He was kind of bored. He started messing with some apps on his phone while they got really into the game.

He wondered what would happen after they all graduated. Sora knew he was going to the University, but what about the others? Axel wasn't really that motivated to go to school; he would rather sit around and smoke weed. Wakka was working on an athletic scholarship just like Sora was, but he wasn't serious either. Sometimes Sora felt a bit distant from his friends. While they worried about getting laid or high, or playing the next video game, Sora was applying constantly to different schools and making sure his life was heading in the right direction. He wanted to stay on the islands, though.

Sora didn't want to waste time like this.

o-o-o

It was time for the NDNN episode. It was during Kairi's Geometry class and she couldn't be more relieved. Math wasn't exactly her favorite subject.

Mr. Tollerson turned off the lights and went back to his desk. He was pretty easy-going when it was time for the show and didn't mind if people whispered, but would get after someone if they were too loud. The broadcast started off with some music videos made by other students. Kairi watched for any of Sora's stuff. Xion drew something next to her and didn't pay attention. There were a few skits on school news, some comedy and even things going on around town. Kairi laughed at the skit that Sora mentioned—it was just as great as he said it was. He was so silly and she really liked that.

Of course, the Valentines Dance was the final topic. Kairi was almost sick of hearing about it. Sora and Axel appeared on the screen.

"So, Sora... you going to that dance this Friday?"

"You know, I think I will."

Kairi was a little surprised. _'I thought he had to work.'_

"Well? Spill! That's definitely not something you go to by yourself, so who's the lucky lady?" Axel teased. "Everyone knows I'm taking my girlfriend."

"I have someone in mind. I haven't asked her yet."

"Why don't you ask her now? Surely she's watching. You don't have much time left! I bet someone snatched her up!" Axel nudged him. Kairi's stomach twisted. She didn't want to see this.

"Yeah, I guess I should hurry up, huh?" Sora faced the camera, but he seemed really nervous. He turned away. "Axel, I can't do it."

"Oh come on, don't be a wimp! That's not like you at all! How about this? Whisper in my ear her name and I'll say it for you!"

"Is this seriously being broadcast right now? Ugh!" One of her classmates complained, but Kairi was all ears. She watched as Sora whispered to Axel on the TV screen.

"Who is that?" she heard Axel say.

"Oh, never mind." Sora faced the camera once again. He took a deep breath and clasped his hands together. "Kairi Hikari, if you're listening..."

Everyone, even Xion looked to Kairi. She froze.

"Please be... my Valentine this year."

o-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**A/N:** Valentines Day... Thanksgiving... who's keeping track? Hah!

Please leave a review! Next chapter we'll get even more into Sora's home life.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


	7. Call Me

**A/N:** After you're done reading this, you should totally check out the link in my profile called "Sex Ed." Just. Do it. :)

o-o-o

**Chapter Seven**

o-o-o

Kairi was unable to concentrate for the rest of the day. People were pointing and talking about her ever since Sora asked her to the dance in front of the entire school. After her Ecology class was over, Kairi hurried to her locker. She knew Sora would come and see her before she left and that made her even more nervous.

Sure enough, there he was.

"Hey, Kairi."

"H-Hi..."

"So... um..." Sora leaned against the locker next to hers, "...did you see the episode?"

"Mhm..." Kairi's nerves were getting the best of her. _'Why can't I just relax? It's not like he asked to marry me. He just asked me to the dance... pull yourself together!'_

"It's alright if you're not going or you already have a date. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."

"N-no... you... didn't..." Kairi knew that was a straight up lie, but even though she was super shy, she secretly liked it. So why was she hesitating? Kairi shut her locker. The buses were about to leave. "Ah... I'm going to miss the bus..." Kairi started to run. She knew she was being rude, but she just couldn't help it. Sora didn't come after her.

At Blitzball practice, Sora couldn't shake the fact that he felt somewhat rejected. _'I made a fool of myself...'_ he thought as he grabbed his goggles from the gym locker. _'I know she's shy and all, but maybe I was wrong? Maybe she doesn't like me that way?'_

There was no sense in dwelling on it. He made sure he had everything and went to practice.

O-o-o

Kairi felt bad about how she acted around Sora. _'I probably screwed everything up...'_ She decided to talk to Olette about it.

_"What happened?"_

_"He asked me to the dance on the news broadcast in front of the entire school! I don't know... I just freaked out. People were staring and talking about me for the rest of the day... it was kind of scary..."_

_"Wow... o.o. But doesn't that mean that he likes you back? You should be happy!"_

_"I should... but I don't know why I'm acting this way."_

_"Maybe you're just not used to the attention?"_

Kairi sighed and typed her response. _"Probably. Most people at school don't even know or remember my name. Sora is liked by almost everyone. I'm just... a weird girl with weird friends. I don't want all of the drama."_

_"Hey! It's everyone else that's weird." _Olette joked.

_"You know what I mean, lol."_

_"Well, you should have known that crushing on someone like Sora came with a price. I think you're just overwhelmed and in denial. If you really like him, you should be with him." _Olette said. _"If he went that far to ask you out, I think he obviously wants something more with you."_

Kairi knew Olette was right. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't deny the facts. Sora had been flirting with her constantly. _"What if he gets to know me and ends up not liking me? We're two completely different people... it seems, yet so far we have a lot in common."_

_"Then it's not meant to be." _Olette responded. _"Just go out with him. There's no need to drag this out. If you don't hurry, he may get the wrong idea and you may miss your chance."_

_"True... I guess I could try calling him."_

_"You should."_

Kairi stared at the house phone next to her bed.

o-o-o

Sora's mother was in the living room reading a book when he walked through the door. "Hey, mom." He said as he set his backpack down.

"Where have you been?"

"Um... Blitzball practice..." Sora deadpanned and raised his eyebrow. _'Did she forget or something?'_

"Why do you waste your time with that? You should be focusing on getting into the University."

"Mom, I have straight A's in all of my classes and I'm working on a scholarship." Sora clarified, but she merely scoffed.

"Have you checked the requirements?"

"Yes, mom. I've been in contact with the coach at the University since last year and now I just have to take my SAT's and graduate."

"Did you send those applications?" The questions never ended.

"Yes, m'am." Sora lied, but he would rather not get a lecture at the moment. However, his mother was one step ahead.

"Why are they stashed in your desk drawer, then?"

_'Damn it.'_ Sora sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry. I've just been busy. I will send them in tomorrow." He hated it when his mom went through his stuff. He just didn't want to tell her that he wasn't applying to all of the universities she suggested.

"Sora, you cannot expect things to just be handed to you. I thought I taught you better than this. You're my _good_ son, remember? Don't end up being useless like your brother."

Sora felt a little bad when his mother would put Vanitas down, but all he could do was nod and show respect. "I guess I'll go and do my homework now."

"Good. Did you talk to your boss about the 401K?"

"Mom, I'm a part-time employee. That's not offered. I'll ask when summer comes."

"Fine. Go."

Mrs. Kiyamoto meant well, but sometimes Sora just felt drained. He knew she was extra hard on him because of Vanitas' defiance. Because of his mother, he already had an IRA, paid his own phone bill and was even required to give some money for the electric and cable bills. He knew it was preparing him for life, but at the same time, he just wanted to be a normal teenager for once without his mother controlling his every move. She didn't exactly approve of his _dream _to be a Blitzball player either and she would often voice her opinion on the matter.

This also interfered with his dating life. He usually didn't tell her when he had a girlfriend. Sora only had three girlfriends since the end of middle school; Tifa being his most recent. Now that he had an interest in Kairi, he was a little afraid of what his mother would say, not only to him but to her. Sora didn't want her to hurt Kairi's feelings... if things were to get that far. Right now, he wasn't really sure of what she thought of him. She was a little difficult to read since she was so shy, at least to Sora.

He wasn't sure exactly what attracted him to Kairi in the first place. It started around the beginning of their senior year. Even though he was with Tifa, she was being super dramatic and was only stressing him out more. Kairi was quiet and he had never actually spoken to her and only heard her talk on a few occasions. Now that he was single, he had a chance to see if there was something worth pursuing with this mysterious girl.

_'I really hope I didn't embarrass her by doing that.'_ Now that Sora thought about it, he was a little surprised Tifa hadn't tried calling yet. She was probably furious, especially since they broke up merely five months before. He went back to her a few times after the break up, but now all they did was talk.

But Tifa's jealousy was a major problem. _'Maybe I should have just asked her personally...'_

Sora started on his homework, but he was having trouble focusing. His stepfather knocked on the door a few minutes later.

"Hey." He greeted him.

"Hello." Sora looked up from his textbook. John was holding a bag of stuff.

"I got you some things." He handed the bag to him. Inside was a new razor and some towels.

"Thanks... sorry, but I'm doing homework."

"Right." He quietly shut the door.

John was always looking for Sora's acceptance and he could tell. It was part of the reason why he didn't like him, other than the fact that he wasn't his father. He felt like John tried too hard at times and too little at others. Vanitas and John didn't get along at all.

Sora set his pencil down and nearly dozed off. His homework was piling up on him and right now all he wanted to do was sleep. He could hear Vanitas and his mother arguing downstairs. Sora got up and stood at the door to listen.

"I don't want you in this house anymore! You're nothing but a waste of space!" His mother yelled.

"Fine, I'll be gone then! I don't need to live here!"

He heard a door slam and Vanitas coming up the stairs. Sora quickly sat back down at his desk and pretended to do his homework. Vanitas flung his door open.

"Hey, I need a ride to Ventus' place."

Sympathizing, Sora just grabbed his keys.

O-o-o

The two brothers rode in silence for a while. Vanitas was texting constantly on his phone; he was clearly still upset.

"Maybe mom is right. Maybe I'm just worthless." Vanitas said finally.

"You know he she gets. She doesn't mean it."

"Oh, whatever! You're mister perfect in her eyes and I'm just the one that she regrets ever having."

"Maybe if you got a job she would think differently." Sora said, knowing he wasn't helping the situation. "All she wants is for us to be financially stable."

"Yeah, well it seems like money is ahead of everything else. Why do you think she and dad fought so much? He ended up having a heart attack-"

"Stop!" Sora demanded. He was so glad to be pulling into Ventus' driveway. "Look, mom is not going to change. You can either do what she tells you or avoid her. That's what I've learned."

"You're such a suck up." Vanitas got out of the car and draped his bag over his shoulder. "I'm not coming back."

Sora knew that Vanitas would come home eventually, so he took his words with a grain of salt and left. _'How dare he...' _Sora tried to calm down so he could focus on the road.

When Sora returned home, he received a call from an unknown number. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Kairi."

"Oh, hey!" He said cheerfully. "I'm glad that you finally called."

"Heh. Um... okay..." There were a few moments of silence. "I guess I'll get to the point because I'm super nervous right now and I bet you can tell, but I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I didn't know what to say."

Sora let out a small laugh. "That's fine... so...?"

"Oh, you want an answer... well, it's really last minute and I don't have a dress... but... yeah, I'll... go... if you really want me to. I mean, I guess you want me to since you asked me in front of the entire school... I'm sorry, I'm rambling..."

_'She's so freaking cute.'_ Sora smiled as he got out of his car. "I look forward to taking you, miss Hikari. Mind if I save this number?"

"G-Go ahead. But it's my house phone, so..."

"I know. I tell you what? Why don't we pick a time to call each other every now and then?" Sora made it up to his bedroom without confrontation from his mother and fell onto his bed.

"A time?"

"Yeah. I have Blitzball practice until five thirty, so on weekdays I'm usually home around six except for game day. I do chores and homework and then I have a little time around eight. My weekends are generally busy. Does that sound good?"

"Eight... I can't guarantee that my little brother won't be hogging the phone..." Kairi stated.

"It doesn't have to be every day." Sora told her. "Whenever you feel comfortable. If I don't answer, just leave me a message and I'll call back when I can."

Kairi giggled. "Okay. That's fine. But..."

"But?"

"You have to call me next time."

"Ahaha, will do. I'll see you in class?"

"Okay. Talk to you later."

"Bye." Sora said and then saved her number in his phone.

O-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**A/N:** What do you think? Please review! I feel like I'm not getting enough responses and it's really hindering updates.

In the meantime, check out _Sex Ed_ in my profile and leave a review if you like it. We worked hard on it and we'd hate to see our time go to waste. We fanfiction authors really love putting these stories out for you guys, so every little bit counts.


	8. Problem

**A/n:** These chapters are short but for those of you that read the original, remember how much shorter those were? Ha! Enjoy!

o-o-o

**Chapter Eight**

o-o-o

Kairi greeted Selphie upon walking into Spanish class. Sora wasn't there yet.

"So... what did you say to him?" Selphie whispered to her.

"I told him I would go with him." Kairi confirmed.

"Yay! I'm so happy for you!"

Kairi blushed and got out her stuff. Just in time for the bell, Sora came in and smiled at her from his his seat before sitting down. Mrs. Martinez began right away.

"You must turn in your forms for the senior trip by February 25th. Payments are due by the end of March. We at least need to know how many are intending on going. If you have your forms, pass them up." Mrs. Martinez stated. Selphie got hers out. Kairi was also able to convince her parents, so she made sure to turn that in. She looked back at Sora, who seemed to be focusing on something else.

_'It would be great if he went.'_ Kairi thought, but even if he didn't she was looking forward to spending her senior trip with her friends. As class went on, Kairi caught herself zoning out more than usual. It was nice to be noticed for once, and by Sora Kiyamoto of all people.

After the bell rang, Sora waited for Kairi. "Want to walk to 3rd period together?" He asked. Selphie winked and went off to her next class.

"Okay." Kairi made sure she had everything and they walked side by side to the gym.

"I'm going to try to go on the senior trip. My mom doesn't believe in fun, so it's going to be hard to convince her. I have my own money, though. Plus, I'm eighteen." Sora began.

"Yeah, you should be able to go if you want to." Kairi said. "I'll be eighteen in a few weeks."

"Your birthday is coming? Oh man, we'll have to do something, then." Sora said enthusiastically.

"We don't have to." Kairi giggled. "When was your birthday?" She asked, assuming he turned eighteen this year.

"Uh..." Sora looked a bit uneasy, "alright, I guess I'll tell you as long as you promise not to tell anyone."

Although Kairi thought it was a little strange, she promised.

"My birthday was January 5th. Only my family and very close friends know. I don't want people to make a big deal about it so I just don't tell." Sora told her. They entered the gym.

"I see. Well, I won't say a word!" Kairi said happily. Sora ruffled her hair a little and then laughed when she pouted. They had to sit in certain spots in the gym for roll call, so they each got into their own places. Kairi turned and smiled at him.

She couldn't wait for the dance now.

O-o-o

Kairi went over to Riku's house that evening. Mari was outside hula-hooping. The ten year old was pretty good at it, but she was no match for the neighborhood champion. (Literally). Kairi joined her and they had a miniature competition that, of course, Kairi ended up winning. Riku came outside.

"Kairi, it's funny how you're the worst dancer ever yet you're so great at hula-hooping. Isn't it pretty much the same thing?"

"Oh! I can dance! Want to go inside and play Just Dance 3?" Mari asked excitedly. Riku and Kairi had no choice but to follow. They sat on the couch and watched as Mari started the game. Mrs. Harada entered the room.

"Hello, Kairi. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Hello." Kairi greeted politely.

"Well dear, there's ice cream in the freezer or some juice if you want. Feel free to go through it."

"Thank you."

"Riku, how rude! Did you even offer your guest a drink?" Mrs. Harada scolded.

"Sorry! Kairi, do you want anything?"

"I'm fine. Thanks." Kairi said. Mrs. Harada left the room. Mari was really getting into it, so she and Riku just sat there.

"Sooo, guess what?" Riku started.

"Hm?"

"This summer I will be going on a week long camp out with my dad. We haven't done one of those since I was a kid."

"Oh, cool!"

"Ohh, yeah!" Mari stopped mid-game to join the conversation, "I'm going too!"

"No you're not." Riku said. "Mari, you're going to lose!"

"But mom said I could go!"

"Mom would never let you go in the woods. She barely approved of dad and I going."

"I would never be able to go camping. I'm too afraid of spiders... and some bugs." Kairi admitted. "Yeah, I can handle the woods for a little while but when it gets dark things just get creepy." Kairi shuddered.

"Oh, come on. We don't have _that_ many poisonous spiders around." Riku joked, taking a well deserved slap on his shoulder from Kairi.

"I hate spiders!"

"I hate them too! They're so icky!" Mari agreed. She jumped in front of Kairi, "sometimes, I have nightmares about HUGE spiders that come after me. Riku has to sing me back to sleep!"

"I do not sing." Riku defended. Kairi giggled as Riku got up to play the dance game against his sister. Kairi sat this one out and just enjoyed herself. She knew she needed to spend more time with Riku, especially since he lived right down the street. She stayed over a few hours longer, switching from video games to dramatic reenactments with Mari. Kairi could barely keep up with the ten year old and really sympathized with Riku for putting up with her on a daily basis.

Riku walked her home just before the sun went down. "See you later!" He waved.

"Bye!" Kairi waved back and entered her house.

"Some guy named Sora called for you." Koru told her. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No, he's just a friend." Kairi said as she reached for the phone.

"I'm waiting for a call, so don't be on too long." Koru stated. Kairi called Sora back once she got to her room.

"Hiya!" Sora answered happily.

"Hello. Sorry for missing your call. I was at a friend's house."

"No problem. Well, you wanted me to call so... I did!"

Kairi lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. "So what's up?"

"Ah, I just got done with some homework. I was looking for a movie to watch on Netflix. Any suggestions?"

"What are you in the mood for? Horror? Comedy? Action?" Kairi asked.

"I don't think I could watch a horror movie by myself." Sora joked. "So maybe comedy."

"I don't think they're meant to be watched alone." Kairi agreed. "Hmm, comedy..." Kairi thought for a moment, "I liked that movie _Neighbors_."

"Oh, it was good?"

"Yeah."

"Nice. I'll check it out." It was quiet for a moment. "Hey, I have a question."

"What's that?"

"It's a bit random, but here goes. Do you sometimes feel like you don't fit in?"

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked.

"Like... do you feel _different_ from the people around you, whether it's in a good or bad way?" He paused. "Ah, I don't really know how to explain it."

"I've always felt different from everyone." Kairi replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."

"No, no. It's fine." Kairi chuckled.

"I just feel like I'm on a different level than most people. Uh..." Sora tried to figure out how to explain properly, "You see, my mom is pressuring me to get into a good school, work a full time job and yet I'm just barely entering adulthood. I've always wondered what it's like to just be a _kid_... my friends are always playing video games or going out to places while I'm stuck either at home or work."

"That sucks. I'm sorry, I can't really relate."

"That's okay. I'm just glad that I have someone to talk to. My friends wouldn't really understand."

"It's good to let it out sometimes." Kairi didn't feel like she was being helpful, but maybe all Sora was looking for was for someone to listen.

"The problem is... if I had like a week to myself of no school or work, I wouldn't know what to do." Sora said, chuckling after. "I guess I've just gotten accustomed to a busy life."

"I'd hate for you to waste your rare free time on me..." Kairi said nervously, immediately regretting it.

"Why? I like talking to you."

Kairi heard a clicking sound. Her brother had picked up the phone.

"Kairi, I need to use the phone."

Not wanting to sound annoyed or anything while Sora was there, Kairi just sighed. "Okay." She waited for him to hang up.

"Ah, the joy of a land line..." Sora chuckled. "I'll talk to you later. Thanks for calling back."

"Any time. See you tomorrow." She hung up.

o-o-o

The Valentines Dance was two days away. Kairi, Namine and Selphie all went searching for dresses. Namine already had hers picked out, so she was just there to assist them. Kairi went along with whatever they picked out and wasn't satisfied until she came across a pink, frilly dress with silver sparkles.

"That looks great on you!" Selphie exclaimed. Kairi felt a little strange in the strapless dress, but at the same time, she wondered what Sora would say. Her friends could read her mind, of course. "Sora's going to fall in love with you." Selphie added.

"Selphie!" Kairi felt a little embarrassed. She changed out of the dress and bought it.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Namine asked.

"Ohh, let's go to the movies!" Selphie suggested. The girls walked to the other side of the mall. Kairi continued to zone out. She kept picturing what the dance would be like, as well as Sora picking her up at her house beforehand.

_'Would my parents question him constantly?'_ She wondered. _'I can't believe I actually have a date to the dance with him...'_

After buying their tickets and some popcorn, Kairi and her friends went and found their seats in the theater. The lights dimmed fifteen minutes later and the movie started. Namine held the popcorn in her lap. Kairi and Selphie munched on it. Kairi wasn't too interested in the movie. Mid-way through, she was starting to feel a little weird.

All of a sudden, there was a sharp pain across Kairi's stomach. Being the tough person that she was, Kairi tried to ignore it as the movie went on, but it was constant and was really starting to bother her. Her friends were too much into the movie, but eventually Namine noticed that Kairi didn't look so good.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Namine whispered, causing Selphie to look as well.

"I-It's nothing. My stomach hurts, that's all."

"Do you need to go home?"

Kairi shook her head, "No, it's alright." Kairi tried to hold back her discomfort, but it was getting difficult.

...She was so wrong.

O-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**A/N:** Thanks to all of those who reviewed, followed and favorited. This is just a fun little story to rewrite! Please review once again and have a nice night!

And if you haven't read and reviewed "Sex Ed" yet, please do :D


	9. Hospital

o-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**Chapter Nine**

o-o-o

Kairi liked to think of herself as a tough person when it came to pain.

But this... she felt as if she had been stabbed in the abdomen over and over again. Kairi held tightly onto the railing as she tried to make it up the stairs; her other hand holding tightly onto her stomach. Her mother was in the living room looking through some things when she noticed that Kairi didn't look so well.

"What's wrong?"

"...I... don't know... it really hurts..." tears formed in her eyes and her lips curled, but eventually she just fell onto the stair in defeat and hunched over. Mrs. Hikari came over to inspect, but she didn't really know what to say.

"What hurts?"

"My stomach... ow..." Kairi cried. She could no longer hold back. The pain was excruciating. Mrs. Hikari helped her down into the living room. "Mom, I think I need to go to the hospital..."

Kairi usually knew when there was something _really_ wrong and this just wasn't normal. She whimpered and curled into a ball on the couch. Mr. Hikari entered the room and observed the situation.

"What's going on?"

"I think I'm going to take Kairi to the hospital." Mrs. Hikari walked past him to the bedroom and started packing some things. Kairi wasn't looking forward to hours in the ER, but it was better than being at home. She could only imagine what was going through her parent's minds at a time like this, but she wasn't too focused on them, obviously. Kairi tried to lay out on the floor, hoping that would soothe the pain but it was no use.

It was going to be a _very_ long night.

o-o-o

Sora noticed that Kairi wasn't in class on Valentines Day. He approached Selphie about it. "Hey, where's Kairi?" Selphie gave him a sad look.

"She's not feeling well. On Wednesday she said her stomach was hurting and then yesterday I found out she was in the hospital. She had to have another surgery."

"...Another?" Sora said worriedly. The bell rang, so he didn't have time to inquire and returned to his seat. _'Guess the dance is a no go... not that it matters. Dang, I just hope she's okay...'_

Sora spent the rest of the day wondering. As he sat in his Ecology class, he zoned out several times. _'I wish Kairi had a cell phone. Why am I so freaking worried, though?'_ Tifa watched as he stared down at his notebook and didn't write anything, thinking it was a bit strange. When class ended, she took the opportunity to ask him.

"Hey, Sora!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Oh, hi." He seemed distant as he gathered his things.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Sora spotted Selphie heading toward the buses area. "Sorry, I have to go." He rushed over to her. "Hey, I was just wondering... which hospital?"

"She usually goes to the St. Pete Children's Hospital." Selphie said. "I'm in a hurry, though."

"Okay, thanks!" Sora waved as Selphie hurried off.

_'I can still make her Valentines Day special...'_

o-o-o

Kairi's mother had to go to work, so she was left by herself in the hospital room for the majority of the day. She was too drowsy to watch anything, but at the same time didn't want to fall back asleep. The time went so slow...

And it was times like these when she would feel lonely.

Being in pain and unable to move much after an intense surgery was one thing, but the silence that filled the hospital room made everything sort of stand still. Although Kairi knew she was loved and had friends that definitely cared, she couldn't help but feel like crying sometimes. This always happened when she was stuck in the hospital by herself, no matter what the reason.

It may have been from the tiredness or not feeling well, but Kairi never really thought too deeply about it. Her eyes would just water and she would temporarily feel like disappearing.

She would temporarily convince herself that she didn't have anyone.

Unbeknownst to her, however, she already had a visitor.

There was a slight knock on the door. Kairi didn't have the strength to speak up at the moment.

"Kairi? It's me. Sora."

_'What...?'_ Kairi turned toward the door. "C-Come in..." she said weakly as she tried to adjust her covers over her green gown that was given to her by the hospital to wear. _'I probably stink... gosh, I'm so embarrassed...'_ Sora opened the door and shut it quietly behind him. He wore a nice, black blazer over his white dress shirt and looked as if he was ready for the dance. He seemed to be hiding something behind his back.

Kairi wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not. The pain medicine she had received earlier made her feel a little woozy. Sora came to her bedside. "Hey... how are you feeling?"

_'I don't want him to see me like this...'_ Kairi thought. She didn't respond with words—instead she just clutched her stomach from the pain once again and shrugged.

"Is there anything I can do for you? Do you need me to get the nurse?" Sora asked worriedly. Kairi shook her head and tried to sit up, but Sora stopped her. "You need to relax. I wouldn't want you to... hurt yourself more." Sora didn't really know how to handle this.

"Okay..." Kairi slumped back down and tried to get comfortable. She pressed the button on the side to adjust the bed up. After that, she felt a little better. "Why are you so dressed up? Are you going to the dance after?"

Sora smiled warmly at her. "I couldn't go without my date. I thought I would sort of... bring the dance to you... sort of." Sora repeated as he pulled out his phone and started playing some soft music. He set it on the table next to her bed. "I brought you some flowers." Sora showed her a bouquet of red roses. Kairi smiled weakly. "Happy Valentines Day. I'm sorry that you have to be here."

"Aww, thank you." Kairi blushed. "They're really pretty."

"You're welcome. Sorry, I'm not good at this..." Sora set the roses aside. "So... you had to have surgery?" He asked with the utmost concern as he pulled up a chair.

"Yeah. The doctors said my intestines got twisted or something."

Sora's face scrunched as he instinctively covered his stomach. "Ouch... how does that even happen?"

Kairi shrugged. "I don't know, but it's _me_ so I'm not surprised..."

"What do you mean?"

Kairi realized that she said too much, but she was too out of it to filter herself. "I'm used to having surgery. If it's uncommon, it happens to me. Doctors are always scratching their heads."

"That makes me kind of sad..."

"It's my life and I've grown to accept it."

_'She's really nonchalant about this...'_ Sora thought.

"I always tell my friends not to worry. Being in the hospital isn't a big deal to me. I know I'll be taken care of."

"Yeah, but to someone that isn't used to having multiple surgeries I guess it could be scary to see their friend go through that. I was pretty worried when Selphie told me. I just want you to be okay." Sora placed his hand on top of hers. He noticed the IV taped just above the palm of her other hand. "Does that hurt?"

"Only initially. I'm a wimp when it comes to needles." Kairi admitted. Sora shuddered.

"I can't even imagine... the last time I was in a hospital was..." he hesitated, "when my father passed away."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Kairi said sympathetically. Sora shook his head.

"It was a long time ago. It's okay. What matters right now is you getting better."

"Thank you. I really didn't expect you to come."

"Is it weird?" Sora asked uneasily.

"Just a little, but it makes me happy." Kairi cracked a half smile.

"That's a good start!" Sora said cheerily. There were a few moments of silence between them. Sora put his phone back into his pocket. Kairi could feel her eyes wanting to close on her, but she struggled to stay awake.

"The physical pain is bothersome, but I think what really bugs me is being alone during the day and at night. Yeah, my mom will stay with me for a few hours but I'm trapped in this bed otherwise. I don't have a lap top or cell phone, so there's really no way to contact anyone..."

"I would go crazy." Sora responded. "It must be rough." Sora kept his hand on hers.

"I'm a little relieved." Kairi began."The dance made me extremely nervous for some reason."

"Same here." Sora agreed. "I don't even know how to dance."

"Me neither." Kairi's face reddened.

"Okay, I'll admit it—I watched a few slow-dancing videos earlier this week."

Kairi tried to hold back her laughter since it hurt to do so. "Really?"

"Yeah. I wanted to be prepared... just in case."

"In case... what?" Kairi questioned. Before Sora could respond, there was a knock at the door. In walked Selphie, Namine and Riku all dressed formally as well.

"Kairi!" Selphie and Namine ran to her. Sora moved out of their way and went over by Riku at the door. They didn't say a word to each other.

"I want to hug you! Can I hug you? I won't kill you—or at least I won't mean to if I do!"

"How are you feeling?" Namine asked over Selphie's incessant pleas.

"I'm okay... I think." Kairi was really surprised to get so many visitors in one day.

"We left the dance early because it was no fun without you!" Selphie told her. "Xion wants to be here, she really does, but her mom made her stay home!"

As Kairi's friends continued to question her condition and cheer her up, Riku and Sora stood by the door in silence. This was the first time they had been voluntarily within a few feet of each other in a long time.

"Thanks for keeping her company." Riku started.

"Oh, um. No problem. I did ask her to the dance and all..."

"Look, if you're pulling any funny business, I won't hesitate to knock you out."

"...I thought you were over that." Sora said quietly.

"Kairi's one of my best friends. Hurt her and I hurt you." Riku reiterated. He then went to greet Kairi while Sora just stayed by the door.

_'Damn it, I don't know why he's still so caught up on that...'_ Sora crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. _'I get that it was stupid and I've changed a lot. Fine. If he wants to be childish then maybe I-'_

"Sora, are you alright?" Kairi's voice interrupted. He walked back over to her.

"Yeah. Hey, your friends are here now, so maybe I should go. I really hope you feel better." There was a hint of sadness in his voice. Selphie and Namine remained silent while Riku just scoffed. Tension filled the room.

_'Aww, I don't want him to leave...'_ Kairi gave him a sympathetic look. "Okay... thanks for visiting me."

"I'll stop by before work tomorrow. See you." Sora left. If Kairi had the strength, she would have kicked Riku. Instead, she just glared at him.

"What? He's a douche." Riku argued.

"You were pretty much encouraging me!" Kairi scolded, but then clutched her stomach once more.  
>"I'm sorry."<p>

"What did he do to you? Fine, you're over the fight... but really!"

"Kairi, please don't yell. You'll hurt yourself." Namine begged.

"It's not what he did to me. It's what he has done to other girls." Riku clarified. "He's not the type to get into a long term relationship, Kairi. I know you're not feeling well but I think you should listen this time. I let it slide for a while because you were so infatuated but now... now it's time to move on."

"Riku..." Namine tried to stop him.

"There are much better guys out there for you." Riku continued. "Sora is the biggest liar I know. He's probably only doing all of this to get in your pants."

What Riku was saying hurt, but Kairi was more hurt that he didn't tell her earlier. She wasn't one to defend someone she didn't even know well. She took her friend's advice over anything. But Riku seemed really bitter and she had always ignored that because she _wanted_ to believe that Sora was a good person.

"We all make mistakes... but if he's really _that_ bad, why didn't you tell me?"

"I've been telling you." Riku was a bit calmer now. "Sora cheated on his first two girlfriends. I _watched_ him do it. I don't know how he was with Tifa, but-"

All of a sudden, the door flung open. Sora stood there, enraged.

O-o-o  
>o-o-o<p>

**A/N:** Uh oh, the Sora Riku showdown is among us! What will Sora say? By the way, a lot of these feelings are close to home. Leave a review if you want to.

Later!


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